Brisbane funds management fintech Jacobi Inc. lands $15.4 million Series A

Investment tech platform Jacobi Inc. has raised US$10 million (A$15.4m) in a Series A led by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).

QIC joined existing Silicon Valley investors Illuminate Venture Partners, 8VC and Western Technology Investment (WTI) in the round. Crystal Russell from QIC and Bill Miller from Makena Capital are joining the Jacobi board.

The Brisbane-born, San Francisco-headquartered fintech will use funding to further accelerate the development of its platform and expand the team and clientele globally.

The platform is used by some of the world’s largest asset management firms, including T.Rowe Price, MFS, LGIM and WTW. Jacobi’s global client base now represents assets under management exceeding A$7 trillion.

Jacobi CEO and founder Tony Mackenzie, who worked for QIC before going on to found his fintech in 2014, said the surprising thing is how much fund tracking is still down on a Microsoft spreadsheet. The cloud-based platform provides a highly customisable suite of tools for designing, managing and visualising multi-asset portfolios.

Mackenzie said it transforms front office-to-end-client investment processes to better enable portfolio design, analytics, and client engagement.

“We are proud to be backed by the highly respected global investor QIC as we continue to grow our global business,” he said.

“Our valued client base spans some of the world’s leading global asset managers, RIAs, asset owners, investment consultants and family offices. Each of these firms have looked to Jacobi for flexible technology that is purpose built for the multi-asset investor”.

Mackenzie said the open-architecture approach to Jacobi means they can configure their solution to each firm’s investment strategy.

“Including their capital market assumptions, data, risk engines and optimisation techniques – and combine that with dynamic visualisation tools for better end-client engagement.”

QIC principal, Crystal Russell said Jacobi is a home-grown success with an exceptional team, world-class product and a global blue chip client base.

“The asset management industry is undergoing a widespread digitalisation with software driven tools enabling more in-depth portfolio analysis and increased client engagement. Jacobi’s product is proving to be a critical tool for some of the world’s most sophisticated asset managers,” she said.