Tier1 Acquires Compliance and Financial Crime Prevention Software Solution, Alessa

The acquisition expands Tier1's portfolio of digital transformation solutions to optimize client engagement, increase operational efficiency and reduce regulatory compliance risk, and is in conjunction with President Jiro Okochi's promotion to CEO of Tier1.

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2021 /CNW/ -- Tier1 Financial Solutions, a leading provider of client relationship management ("CRM") solutions, has acquired Alessa, a compliance and financial crime prevention solution. The acquisition positions Tier1 to significantly grow its portfolio of solutions to meet its ambitious goal to digitally transform processes within organizations for greater client insights, revenue protection, regulatory compliance and AI-driven automation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.    

Alessa is an industry-recognized software solution that is used by banks, credit unions, money services businesses (MSBs), casinos and fintechs for compliance to global anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Alessa also has a significant global footprint with organizations in the retail, healthcare, insurance and other corporate sectors with its continuous controls monitoring and fraud prevention capabilities.  

Tier1's acquisition of Alessa is a step towards the digitalization of the entire client relationship workflow. The acquisition will not only increase operational efficiency and reduce regulatory compliance risk but also lead to the "single source of truth" of client data across the full range of financial institutions, from global banks to small, local trading firms. In turn, bank customers will also enjoy a better on-boarding experience which can be frustrating if regulatory compliance is delayed with too many manual processes.   

"Regulatory requirements are no longer just a bank compliance department issue but an important part of front-office workflow and client lifecycle management," said Jiro Okochi, CEO of Tier1 Financial Solutions. "We are very excited about joining forces with Alessa and together accelerating the digital transformation of our client's transactional workflow." 

"We are excited to be part of the Tier1 family as this allows us to be even more aggressive in our barrier-breaking mindset to deliver powerful solutions to the multi-billion-dollar compliance and fraud prevention market," said Andrew Simpson, Chief Operating Officer of Alessa operations. "All our customers, partners and team members will benefit from this acquisition as it enables us to accelerate delivery on our bold promises." 

Alessa will become part of the Tier1 branded product suite. Andrew Simpson will remain as Chief Operating Officer reporting to Jiro Okochi who assumed the CEO role of Tier1 Financial Solutions on January 1, 2021. Co-Founders Mark Notten and Phil Dias will continue as Board Member and become Board Advisor, respectively. 

Portico Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Alessa with respect to this transaction. Tier1 Financial Solutions investor Wavecrest Growth Partners served as business advisors to Tier1 in its ongoing commitment to and investment in the company's strategic growth plans.

ABOUT TIER1 FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS 
Tier1 Financial Solutions is a leader in client relationship management software for capital markets and investment banking. Tier1 empowers its clients to create sales opportunities and maximize client interactions while increasing productivity and reducing relationship risk. Trusted by nearly 20,000 CRM users worldwide, Tier1 delivers workflow-optimized experiences, prompted insights and a centralized view of client interactions that drive revenue-generating engagements ? all on a capital markets grade security engine.  Serving the unique needs of Research, Sales & Trading, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Investment Management professionals, Tier1 advances client relationships and workflows with data-driven insights across desktop and mobile devices, empowering collaboration, transparency and communication. For more information, visit?www.tier1fin.com. 

ABOUT ALESSA
Alessa is an AML compliance, controls monitoring and fraud prevention solution for banking, insurance, fintech, gaming, manufacturing, retail and more. With deployments around the world, Alessa allows organizations to quickly detect suspicious transactions, identify high-risk customers and vendors and decrease fraud risks that reduces profitability and increases costs. To learn more about how Alessa can help your organization ensure compliance to regulations, detect complex fraud schemes, and prevent waste, abuse and misuse, visit us at https://www.alessa.com/.

SOURCE Tier1 Financial Solutions