‘Groundbreaking tech’ opens wholesale market to sole investors

Australian wealthtech developer GBST has announced it has developed a new investor technology platform that enables individual Australian and New Zealand investors and managers to invest in the wholesale private equity market.

The wholesale market has previously only been accessible to institutional investors.

Built by GBST for fellow wealthtech and private markets specialist firm Luna Partners, the cloud-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform was implemented within just eight months from initial brief.

Among the platform’s features include a dedicated website, a digital application process, as well as online investor and administration portals, which provide individual investors direct access to Luna Partner’s wholesale private equity portfolios.

The platform also incorporates fast-tracked onboarding features, including digital Know your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) checks.

GBST group chief executive Robert DeDominics said the fast-paced delivery of the “complete technology solution” was enabled through seamless collaboration between the firm’s digital, DevOps and architecture teams, noting that rapid market entry was a key priority for Luna.

Luna said the platform has been a game-changer for the firm’s operations and for private equity fundraising in the region.

“As a PE firm, we knew only too well that the opportunities in Australia for investors to gain access to private markets was limited,” said Luna Partners co-founder Edward Caser.

“We’ve seen Australian private equity firms turning to offshore institutions and domestic private wealth platforms as superannuation funds retreat from the middle market.

“But we’ve now changed all that. We have an incredibly user-friendly website, an intuitive investor portal, and an efficient administration portal which has exceeded our expectations.”