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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Artivest, a cutting-edge technology platform that connects leading private equity and hedge funds with a wider audience of suitable investors, announced today a $15 million round of funding led by prominent global investment firm KKR, with existing investors RRE Ventures, Peter Thiel, Nyca Partners, Anthemis Group and FinTech Collective participating as well. Artivest will use the funding to accelerate the growth of its technology, infrastructure and sales teams and the execution of its product roadmap.

James Waldinger, Founder & CEO of Artivest (Photo: Business Wire)

"Artivest combines leading technology with operational tools for feeder funds that will further open the door for financial advisors and high net worth investors looking to commit capital to a wide variety of top private equity funds. Most private equity firms are very interested in accessing this capital but do not have the technical or operational capability to do so today. We look forward to partnering with Artivest as they expand their business," said Ed Brandman, KKR's Chief Information Officer, who will join Artivest's Board of Directors.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York City, Artivest provides access at lower investment minimums to a select assortment of privately offered alternative investment funds. To date, Artivest has offered premier private equity and venture capital funds and will soon be offering hedge funds.

"The process of investing in private placements—previously inefficient for all involved--has not changed in any meaningful way for decades. A number of trends have come together, including alternative funds' increasing focus on individual investors and investors' growing appetite for all types of alternatives. At this crucial moment, we are bringing private investing a much-needed digital upgrade," said Artivest CEO and Founder, James Waldinger. "It's a great honor and a meaningful endorsement to be backed by KKR, one of our first partners."

High net worth investors — a crucial and complicated customer base

Qualified investors, including those served by the rapidly growing independent advisor community, are fueling a new wave of demand for alternative strategies and are, in fact, the fastest growing segment of assets allocated to alternative funds. With equity markets periodically testing new highs and publicly available fixed income investments providing unsatisfactory yields, clients and their advisors are actively seeking alternative solutions for compounding wealth over long time periods. Top private equity and hedge funds, which have historically raised capital exclusively from institutions and those capable of writing institutional-sized checks, are compelled by this investor base but challenged by the implications of sourcing, onboarding and serving a much more fragmented clientele.

Artivest provides a multi-pronged solution to connect these two constituencies at scale. Key Artivest features for qualified investors include more accessible investment minimums, online access to intuitive displays of fund metrics and electronic completion of all legal documentation. Funds utilize Artivest technology to manage investor relations and client operations at scale. Both user types benefit from best-in-class-security and encryption protection.

About Artivest

Artivest offers a digital platform for private investment managers and investors. We connect a wider audience of suitable investors with investment opportunities in top-quality private equity and hedge funds that are typically available only at institutional minimum investment sizes. Our technological, financial, and operational expertise powers a seamless experience for individual investors and a scalable point of access for financial advisors and fund managers. Ultimately, our mission is to bring private investment management into the digital age. Artivest is a FINRA member registered Broker Dealer. For more information, please visit www.Artivest.co. Follow Artivest on Facebook: facebook.com/artivest and Twitter: @artivest

About James Waldinger, Founder and CEO

James drew on his background in investing and online marketing to found Artivest. He identified a compelling opportunity to deliver to a wider audience intuitive access to the best that money managers had to offer, and let the best money managers focus on what they do best. Previously, he served on the investment team at the global macro hedge fund, Clarium Capital Management, where he also ran an emerging markets-focused investment portfolio. He has worked with a variety of internet startups, in investment, advisory and operational roles, including as an analyst on Peter Thiel's initial investment in Facebook. James earned his BA in History from Yale, and he holds both a JD and MBA from Stanford.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world‐class people, and driving growth and value creation at the asset level. KKR invests its own capital alongside its partners' capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital markets business. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150504005262/en/

For Media:
Artivest
Suzanne Graves, 917-722-0880
Suzanne@artivest.co
or
KKR
Kristi Huller, 212-230-9722
Kristi.Huller@kkr.com

Source: Artivest

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