Technology is reshaping almost every aspect of the private markets investment process —streamlining fundraising and investor onboarding, enabling real-time compliance screening, and automating reporting. That’s good news for efficiency, but what does it mean for the human side of an industry built on long-term partnerships? Rory Blazeby, our Head of Client Relationship Management, shares why people remain critical—and how the real value lies in using technology to free people to focus on judgement, relationships, and human expertise.
Over the last two decades, how has technology changed private markets investing?
Manual processes are being automated, digital documents and approvals are replacing paper forms and wet signatures, and with advancing tools like blockchain and artificial intelligence, this shift will only accelerate.
But adoption is uneven, and even where technology is widely used, people remain essential. The real opportunity lies in bringing the two together: using technology to simplify and expedite processes, while freeing people to focus on where trust and relationships matter most.
That’s exactly our philosophy at Sonata One—combining scalable technology with an expert team to deliver a fully supported fund lifecycle solution. It’s not just about digitising individual steps of the private markets investment process; it’s about transforming the entire investor journey.
Where do you see technology delivering the most value?
Investor onboarding is a prime example. Traditionally it meant filling out lengthy fund subscription questionnaires, emailing documents back and forth, and repeating the same know your customer verification processes for every new investment. It isn’t especially complex, but it is slow and frustrating—particularly as managers raise funds across larger investor bases.
Technology takes a lot of that pain away. By centralising information, automating routine compliance screening, and creating a single point of entry, investor onboarding becomes much faster and less arduous. Investors can reuse their fund subscription and KYC documentation, managers gain a single source of truth, and everyone benefits from fewer errors and less time spent chasing—or being chased—for information.
And what are the limits—what can’t technology solve?
Technology doesn’t solve everything. Human judgement is vital in private markets. Staying with investor onboarding—fund managers need experts to opine on borderline decisions around whether to accept an investor from an anti-money laundering compliance perspective—especially when the decision isn’t black and white.
It’s about weighing nuanced factors—historic relationship, jurisdictional requirements, and the investor’s profile—to reach an informed view of risk. That’s where human expertise is irreplaceable.
Where do investors most value human support?
Many institutional investors are still quite traditional when it comes to technology. They may use systems but often want someone they trust to hand off to.
At the other end of the spectrum, with the increasing democratisation of the asset class are UHNW and retail investors—familiar with a fully digital experience and more seamless reporting from their public markets portfolio. However, as relative newcomers to the asset class, they need support to understand the private markets investment process. For them, it’s about education—for instance KYC document requirements, the rules in different jurisdictions—essentially, having someone to guide them through the regulated environment.
This is where our model—combining a technology platform with human support—makes the difference. It’s the “white glove” element: tailored support for investors, delivered at scale. And Sonata One’s platform is the infrastructure that enables it.
Why is the human touch so important from a fundraising perspective?
Raising capital and servicing investors over the fund lifecycle are about more than just process—they’re about relationships. Technology provides the scale managers need as funds get bigger and investor bases expand. But people handle the nuanced conversations, solve problems, and keep the experience seamless.
Applied well, technology takes care of the mundane, leaving managers free to focus on what matters: investor relations, discussing strategy, and raising capital.
Looking ahead, how do you see the balance evolving?
Private markets will only become more complex, with new investor types, evergreen structures, retail funds and a global focus on the regulatory environment. To navigate this volume and complexity efficiently, the key is working smarter—getting technology to do a lot of the heavy lifting, not simply throwing more people at the problem.
Our industry’s experience with technology has been mixed, partly because many platforms aren’t built for purpose or don’t integrate well. Given how interconnected private markets are, we need seamless, joined-up infrastructure across the industry—not just isolated best-in-class solutions.
That’s why Sonata One was built as a central exchange for private markets investors—designed specifically for institutional and retail investors alike, with integration and scalability at its core.
At the same time, it’s important to keep in mind technology’s limits. Clients frequently voice concerns around leaving their investors to self-serve without adequate care and support along the way. Over-reliance risks losing the trust and human connection that underpin investor relationships.
As Barack Obama once commented: “The most important advice I give to young people is … just learn how to get stuff done.” That’s exactly the balance we need in private markets as the industry grows and matures. Technology makes things faster. People add meaning and value. And together, they can get things done—the right way.
Our approach
Combining expert people and scalable tech has always been core to our approach here at Sonata One. Interested in how it works? Let us show you how.
