Mercato is an all-digital private investment marketplace that allows wealth advisors and sophisticated investors* to search for, access, diligence and seamlessly invest in private investments, such as hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and direct privates.  Leveraging the power of BridgePort’s digital private investment ecosystem, wealth advisors and investors can conduct dynamic searches, such as by strategy, theme (e.g. Sustainability, Minority-Owned, etc.), investment program (e.g. Growth, Yield, Inflation-Protection) and more; create custom private investment Watchlists; seamlessly onboard, transact and access integrated reporting information and more.

*Mercato is for Accredited Investors Only, as that term is defined by Rule 501 of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933

As investors continue their journey from public to private investments, digitization is an essential underpinning to successful program outcomes in ensuring investor experiences are as fluid and transparent as they are accustomed to in public securities investing.

Mercato is a fully digitized technology platform that allows wealth managers and private investment sponsors to provide investors with a fully digital, secure private investment experience. While most private investment transactions are diligenced and procured in a paper environment, Mercato leverages data that allows for a more robust diligence and research process, a centralized and seamless transaction and reporting process, and commercial-grade security.

Mercato provides program sponsors with a custom “feeder” or “aggregator” vehicle structure, where private investors may access certain private investments that are normally inaccessible or restrictive, as a result of:     

• Higher prescribed investment minimums (e.g. $5 million minimum investment), where the investor does not have the means to meet the higher prescribed minimum;
• The higher prescribed minimum impedes the investor’s ability to appropriately diversify its investment (e.g. the investor needs to commit 75% of their total investable assets to meet the minimum, vs. the 5% it desires to in order to properly diversify its investments);
• The terms established by the underlying investment are not optimal, such as extended capital commitments (or “lockups”) that restrict the investor’s access to their investment for multiple years. 

In an effort to bridge the gap between the traditional minimum capital requirements, liquidity terms and other features, funds aggregate the combined capital commitments of multiple investors in an effort to make such private investments more accessible to a broader range of investors.

As an example, a private fund or private investment that may require a minimum investment of $5 million, with a multi-year commitment, can be augmented with a dedicated aggregator fund that may allow a $50,000 investment with a commitment of 1 year or less.

• More dynamic and compelling investment opportunities for your clients to further diversify their portfolio to include private investments, with many investment minimums as low as $50,000
• A well-informed investor journey with a keen sense of awareness of the benefits and risks of private investments, leveraging rich educational content, white papers, webinars and more
• Access to high quality OCIO (Outsourced Chief Investment Officer) and Investment Due Diligence services for research, diligence, investment program design and more
• The ability to explore a variety of pre-curated private investments on Mercato, or conduct mandate-specific searches based on a variety of factors- such as returns, volatility, and drawdowns; or others, such as themes, strategies, sectors and more
• Your own white-labeled, fully branded interface with a custom, private investment universe that can be shared with and seamlessly accessible to your clients
• All-digital client onboarding, private investment transactions and transparent reporting that includes proof of ownership, valuation, investment updates and more
• A refreshing, and fully customizable product platform with attractive compensation arrangements

• Access to more dynamic and compelling private investment opportunities to further diversify your portfolio
• The ability to search for direct investments in individual private companies, diversified private company portfolios, or managed private funds- such as hedge funds, venture capital and private equity funds
• All-digital private investment transactions, and transparent reporting that includes proof of ownership, valuation, investment updates and more
• The ability to properly diversify across multiple private investments, with minimums as low as $50,000
• A unique and well-informed investor journey, exploring private market opportunities with a keen sense of awareness of the benefits and the risks of private investments, leveraging rich educational content

• Private Issuers gain access to a robust distribution channel of wealth advisors and sophisticated investors, in a highly fluid and frictionless, all-digital environment
• Order aggregation features through an optional feeder structure, to provide investors with optimal diversification (e.g. $50k), while still adhering to larger investment minimums (e.g. $1M+) and preserving existing product structures
• A compelling product summary “Indication” feature, which allows private issuers to examine the feasibility and interest level of new products, before committing to structuring costs
• A white-labeled, custom user interface to customize each digital entity profile, and operate in a fully digitized private investment ecosystem throughout the entire investment life cycle- from inception, diligence, and capital raising, through transacting and reporting

All client transaction and reporting data on Mercato is highly compatible and can be shared across a variety of third-party reporting systems and custodians. Please contact us at info@mercatopmx.com for more information.

Investment Programs can be structured utilizing algorithms and data filters to search for private investments that may meet a desired investment mandate.  For example, where an investor is looking to construct a private investment program specifically designed for Inflation Protection or Sustainability, Mercato will search and retrieve al investments designated as such within that program.

Absolutely.  A well-informed investor journey is a meaningful underpinning on the Mercato platform, particularly given that private investing can be a notably different experience than public investing.  Private investment sponsors are not required to provide investors with nearly the level of disclosure that public companies are, and it is presumed that private investors have the experience to understand the risks and bear the potential economic loss of private investing.

Please refer to www.mercatopmx.com/privates-school

Mercato is powered by BridgePort WMS ^TM, a SOC 2, commercial-grade SaaS platform, utilizing multiple enhanced security protocols for data privacy and protection:

• AWS Cloud hosted platform, with world-class security, meeting SOC1/SAE 3402, SOC2, SOC3 assurance programs
• End-to-End (E2E) encryption for maximum data privacy
• Two-factor authentication (2FA) for identity protection
• Routine third-party penetration testing
• User-controlled permission protocol for authorized delegates and interested parties

Compare this with the more common practice today, where multiple investors, sponsors and administrators transmit highly sensitive subscription, transaction and reporting information through email.

There is no cost for investors to access and transact on Mercato, though there may be costs associated with the entities in which they invest.   For Wealth Advisors, there is no cost to access Mercato to review content and products.  However, Wealth Advisors may choose to license Mercato to procure a white-labeled interface that allows for client onboarding and investing.

For private investment sponsors to list their product(s) on Mercato, there is an annual licensing fee.  There may be additional fees associated with dedicated feeder structures, to the extent they are required, and other administrative costs. 

For more information, please contact us at info@mercatopmx.com

The Mercato senior team has multiple decades of financial industry experience including leadership roles at global investment banks, wealth advisors, hedge funds, regulatory agencies and one of the top ten largest US Defined Benefit institutions, along with significant development/design expertise to build customer-focused, disruptive technology platforms and solutions.  Our investment team includes multiple CFA and CMT Charterholders, providing customized investment programs, educational content, due diligence and more to optimize the Mercato platform experience.

The company’s investors are comprised of highly seasoned investment professionals, including principals at a variety of global and alternative investment firms, investment banks and other commercial investment institutions.

BridgePort WMS ^TM is an agnostic, cloud-based, digital private investment ecosystem that hosts fully digitized transactions and reporting for any private investment, including any private fund (Hedge, Venture, PE, RE, etc.), and any privately placed securities (SAFEs, Convertibles, Series A, B, etc.). 

For more information, please visit www.bridgeportft.com