Moonfare, headquartered in Germany, is part of a crop of businesses that use technology to widen access to alternative investments which were previously the sole preserve of large institutions and ultra-wealthy individuals.

Berlin-headquartered private equity platform Moonfare, whose APAC business is based in Singapore, has hired Blackstone and EQT alumnus Adam Banks (pictured) as its new Singapore-based head of the Asia-Pacific region.

Adam Banks

At Blackstone, Banks was a Singapore-based principal. Previously, he worked in London as a vice president for Brookfield Asset Management, a manager for EQT Group and an investment banking associate for Jubilee Financial Products. He was educated at the University of Leeds and King's College School, Wimbledon.

“The combination of rapidly growing wealth and digital transformation of finance makes APAC an exciting region for us. Adam is absolutely the right person to lead our business there,” founder and co-CEO Steffen Pauls, said. “He has substantial cross-asset experience, a rounded financial background, and has successfully serviced both institutional and individual investors for top-flight managers.”

Moonfare is an example of the kind of tech-driven business, such as CAIS (US) and iCapital (also US) that have arisen in previous years to make it easier for high net worth individuals to access private markets and other alternative sectors such as hedge funds. Moonfare enables eligible investors to register and invest directly online. So far, it has offered more than 110 private-market funds from firms such as KKR, Carlyle and EQT. The business, which operates in 22 countries, also offers its own proprietary funds, including highly curated co-investments as well as secondaries.