Siepe LLC, a trusted provider of software and technology-enabled services for private credit and CLO managers, has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by WestCap, a strategic operating and investing firm with $6 billion in assets under management (AUM).
The investment will drive a multi-product roadmap, including the expansion of its AI and Machine Learning capabilities, and strengthen strategic partnerships. These initiatives will help support the accelerated capital flows, and eliminate inconsistent data and processes seen across the Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) and private credit ecosystem.
Since its founding in 2012, Siepe has designed solutions and services that enable strategic business and investment decisions for the front, middle and back office teams of private credit asset managers and CLOs. Their solution suite brings entire investment lifecycles into perspective, providing customers with a single source of truth and full transparency into real-time, accurate data to increase oversight and streamline workflows. By leveraging AI technology, Siepe solutions also eliminate manual processes that can be used to drive bottom-line growth for its clients’ customers and optimize investments.
As private credit continues to be one of the fastest growing asset classes within the alternatives market, the firm is committed to enhancing the efficiency, data integrity, compliance support and scalability of CLO and private credit managers. As a result, Siepe has seen significant growth across technology and service business lines in H1 2024 with private credit managers. This includes adding nineteen CLO and private credit deals with eight top-tier US CLO managers, which accounts for over $7.7BN in new assets under administration (AUA). The Company also onboarded two new front-office software clients, one with $80BN AUM in private credit assets and the other with $6BN in total AUM and launched a new private credit fund.
“The new capital will help us continue our momentum in deploying integrated solutions and best-in-class service for fund managers in the private credit and broadly syndicated bank debt sector,” said Michael Pusateri, CEO and Founder of Siepe. “Our mission is to help credit managers better leverage their data to reduce operational risk and increase alpha.”
The Siepe team will leverage WestCap’s experience – as founders, operators and managers – in the private markets ecosystem, specifically around financial technology and data management workflows. The firm is also an early and material investor in private market-leading innovators iCapital and Addepar. WestCap’s support of Siepe will be led by:
• The firm’s founder, Laurence A. Tosi, former CFO of both Airbnb and Blackstone, and COO of Merill Lynch Investment Banking and Trading. As a founder and investor, he created several industry-changing platforms to solve some of the most pressing challenges in private markets, including Ipreo, TMC Bonds and iLevel.
• WestCap Partner, Co-COO and Head of Strategic Operators, Kevin Marcus, who will join the Siepe board and bring his experience as the Co-Founder and former President of iPreo (acquired by IHS Markit), a provider of market intelligence, data, and workflow solutions for global capital markets.
• Ryan Benevides, Principal at WestCap, who will also join the Siepe board, and previously held roles within Blackstone Credit.
“The growth of private credit markets has outpaced investment in technology and innovation, causing inefficiency, lack of insight and control over private assets,” said Laurence A. Tosi, Managing Partner and Founder of WestCap. “These are the challenges that Siepe is addressing with a trusted solution that brings the entire investment lifecycle into perspective.”
In conjunction with the new funding, Siepe has appointed Mark Schultis as President. Schultis joined Siepe as an Advisor in October 2023, bringing nearly two decades worth of experience focused directly in the credit and CLO world. Previously, he was CEO at SE2 LLC, and a Partner and Senior Vice President at IHS Markit running the Wall Street Office (WSO) business.
“I’m thrilled to join Siepe at this pivotal moment in their journey. Michael and team have always taken a technology first approach to building products and services for their customers, which is a key differentiator in the market today,” said Mark Schultis. “This new funding will accelerate our ability to scale our business, better support our customers and drive innovation in the industry, particularly around connectivity, quality and data transparency.”
The new executive and board membership line-up complements Siepe’s deep bench of senior leadership and extensive industry experience. Prior to founding Siepe, Michael Pusateri served as Chief Technology Officer at Carlson Capital and Highland Capital Management. The Company’s board members also include Robert Tomicic, a former Founder of Virtus Partners, and Ann Kono, former Chief Information and Risk Officer for Ares Management Corporation.