Alokik Advani oversees Fidelity International Strategic Ventures (FISV), the UK-based strategic investment arm of US-headquartered financial services and investment group Fidelity, as managing partner.
Formed in 2018, the unit invests in entrepreneurs developing financial technology which is strategic to its parent company. This entails a focus on retail engagement, workplace investing, alternative finance, sustainability, asset management, tech stack and emerging tech.
To date, the fund – which Advani has been in charge of since 2020 – has made investments across 14 portfolio companies based in countries including the UK, Germany, Denmark, Israel, the US, Singapore, India and Canada.
The unit has participated in rounds raised by equity management platform developer Capdesk, private markets investment platform Moonfare, digital trading technology provider DriveWealth and online investment marketplace PrimaryBid. Its most recent deals have included a strategic partnership with data platform Finbourne and a role as lead investor in a $5m series B round for Indian wealth-management startup Kuvera.
Advani told Global Corporate Venturing: “One of the biggest criticisms of CVCs is that the investment teams have limited influence on the manifestation of strategic synergies, and so one of our key pillars is to ensure we can make those promises a reality.
He added: “I am focused on realising the commercial partnerships and strategic synergies for each of our portfolio companies with Fidelity International.”
A native of Mumbai, India, Advani moved to the US to study at Ohio Wesleyan University and began his career as an analyst in the financial institutions group at Merrill Lynch in New York and has been investing on behalf of large financial institutions with a strategic lens since 2002.
