TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NEO is pleased to introduce DealSquare, Canada’s first centralized platform to simplify private placements in Canada, by digitally connecting capital raisers to dealers and their investment advisor networks. DealSquare is a technology solution developed by NEO in partnership with Silver Maple Ventures Inc., the company behind Canada’s leading online B2C private markets investment platform, FrontFundr, https://www.FrontFundr.com. DealSquare will support the entire private placement process from marketing investment opportunities and electronically managing the due diligence and subscription process, through to efficiently closing the deal. By utilizing NEO Connect technology, exempt securities will be seamlessly integrated into client accounts and back office systems. With broader and more efficient access to private placement offerings, the costs and operational risks of raising private money will go down, ultimately expanding investment opportunities. It’s a win-win for capital raisers, dealers, investment advisors and investors.
Over the past ten years, investors have flocked to the private markets looking for superior returns and to add balance to their portfolios. However, despite the overall growth in private markets compared to public markets, asset managers and capital raisers of all sizes and stages are still limited in their ability to complete private placements without facing debilitating financial, operational and regulatory burdens. Private placements have also traditionally relied on friends, family and business relationships, inefficiently raising money from a very small subset of the investing community.
DealSquare officially launched today, with three dealers immediately connected to the platform and six active private placement offerings.
“Private market investment continues to outpace the public markets; however, access to private offerings has been fragmented, marketed through word-of-mouth and transacted using archaic technology. Today, that changes,” stated Jos Schmitt, President and CEO, NEO. “Together with the team from Silver Maple Ventures, we are making access to private markets easier, more efficient and with less operational risk through DealSquare.
At NEO, our vision from day one has been to bring competition and innovation to all facets of the Canadian capital markets, including the private markets space. We are very proud to continue to deliver on our vision with the introduction of DealSquare. As of today, asset managers and capital-raising companies of all sizes can now partner with NEO to raise capital through multiple channels, whether through the public or private markets, on or off exchange.”
How DealSquare Works
Dealers connected to DealSquare can publish their approved deals to their investment advisors in an organized and centralized manner. They also have the option to open their deal rooms to other dealer networks. Due diligence teams can review all deal information in one place, then choose to approve an offering to be marketed to the advisor network. Registered advisors can download investor-ready documentation and share deal pages with their clients. Investment documents will be digitally executed on the platform, with reporting documentation instantly consolidated and organized1. Upon closing, NEO Connect technology will be used to facilitate the electronic settlement of exempt securities into dealer back office systems and client accounts. https://www.dealsquare.io/About
“The private markets have been lagging the public markets with regards to access and efficiency in processing investments,” says Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Managing Director of DealSquare. “With DealSquare, we simplify the private placement exchange and transaction between dealers and advisors in a fully digitalized and efficient online environment. We are thrilled to partner with NEO on this opportunity. Our online capital raising and investment processing capabilities, combined with the NEO Connect technology, delivers a highly innovative and powerful private markets solution to the Canadian investment industry.”
Dealer and Investment Advisor Access to DealSquare
DealSquare is available to all Canadian investment dealers. Independent investment dealer Aligned Capital Partners Inc. is one of the first three dealers to pioneer DealSquare. Investment advisors from these firms can request access to DealSquare to open a registered account and access, analyze and transact private market deals. For more information on how to register, please visit the DealSquare website https://www.dealsquare.io/FAQs.
“We recognize this innovative solution will give our advisors access to private investment deals that will add opportunity and balance to their client portfolios,” said Christopher Enright, Founding Partner, President & Managing Director, Aligned Capital Partners. “Like Aligned Capital, NEO is focused on providing efficient services and innovative solutions that put the needs and interests of their clients at the forefront. As a strategic partner they helped forge our relationship with DealSquare and we are proud to pioneer this private market deal platform.”
Raising Capital on DealSquare
Any Canadian private or public company – large or small - can use the platform for private placement offerings. Asset managers can also leverage DealSquare to provide investors with innovative investment opportunities. Working with a dealer to market a private placement on DealSquare will provide broader reach to secure investment interest. A streamlined, electronic investment process will make it easier and more efficient for advisors to subscribe and invest on behalf of their clients. This will lead to a reduction in the cost of raising capital, as access and interest in the private investment opportunity goes up.
To learn more about how DealSquare connects Dealers, Advisors and Capital Raisers and how it makes it easy to find, analyze and share private market opportunities, please visit: https://www.dealsquare.io/About.
About DealSquare
DealSquare is a centralized digital platform that gives registered users the ability to efficiently find, analyze and transact private market deals. With the complete roll-out of the platform during the first half of 2020, this dealer-to-dealer platform will digitally support the private placement process: capital raisers publish their private placement opportunities; dealers complete their due diligence; and advisors electronically subscribe to a deal, with exempt securities seamlessly integrated into client accounts and back office systems utilizing NEO Connect technology. DealSquare is a joint initiative between NEO and Silver Maple Ventures to make private markets better and more efficient.
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About NEO
NEO or the NEO Group comprises Aequitas Innovations Inc. and its subsidiaries, a group of established fintech companies that provide capital markets infrastructure designed for and led by the industry. Our competition, innovation and advocacy enable change, for the better. NEO is currently home to two capital raising solutions, NEO Exchange, a progressive stock exchange that brings together investors and capital raisers within a fair and transparent environment, and NEO Connect, a technology platform that enables the distribution of financial assets not listed on a stock exchange. To learn more, please visit: https://www.aequitasneo.com.
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1 Digital execution will be enabled with the full roll-out of the DealSquare platform, expected during the first half of 2020. During the pilot phase, PDF documentation and manual execution will be facilitated by the DealSquare team.
