Asset International is a B2B information and technology company in the finance vertical which is transforming smaller traditional companies it has acquired into a high growth global business with a diverse set of new revenue streams: electronic data, tools, online media, research, and events. Formed through a series of acquisitions (Strategic Insight, Asset International, and The Trade), the formation of the company itself was a bold move in 2009, a year during which the financial information sector was highly out of favor due to the financial crisis.
The combined company provides information and technology solutions to mutual fund, hedge funds, broker dealers, pension funds, 401K plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, financial advisers, and custodial banks. Its key brands include Strategic Insight, Simfund, SimfundGlobal, Annuity Insight, PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, Global Custodian, The Trade, aiCIO and Plan For Life. Key initiatives in growing the business include:
- Taking traditionally print businesses and transforming into a more online centric media organization
- Expanding the traditionally US-centric businesses into Europe and Asia
- Adding new information products, tools, and services to further drive organic growth. (The firm’s most recent expansion is its acquisition of Plan For Life, a leading provider of business intelligence data and research for the Australian managed fund and life insurance markets.)
- Looking for additional subscription-based information/tools acquisitions in the finance vertical with EBITDA between $1M and $10M
The CEO, Jim Casella, former CEO of Reed Business Information US and former COO of IDG, brings a wealth of experience in growing media and data businesses, expanding globally, and transitioning from traditional to new business models. The company, based in New York with offices in London, Stamford, CT, Hong Kong, and Melbourne, Australia, is backed by Austin Ventures.