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For DPL Financial Partners · Prepared for May 12
×
A partnership built for what comes next.
Proprietary VIT infrastructure for DPL's enterprise RIA members — turnkey from first fund launch to scale.
Prepared for
DPL Financial Partners
Prepared by
Aqua leadership team
Section 1
Company overview.
An overview of Aqua, the platform we operate, and the experience we bring to a partnership of this scope.
Section 1Company Overview
Built by operators, backed by believers.
Aqua is a fund infrastructure platform purpose-built for the modern wealth and asset management stack. We exist to take the operational and technological lift off our partners so they can focus on what they do best — managing capital and serving clients.
Founded
2021
Operator-led from day one
Acquired
AIX
Fund-data and operational infrastructure
Backed by
Strategic and institutional partners
Section 1Company Overview
We own the operations and technology stack so fund managers, RIAs, and platforms can launch proprietary funds and alts quickly and seamlessly.
One contract. One partner. One point of accountability — across every layer of fund infrastructure.
SEC-registered series trustEnd-to-end fund operationsCustody & transfer agencyLegal, compliance, auditUnified data & reportingBring-your-own-vendor flexibility
Section 1Company Overview
Built by operators.
Leadership with 100+ combined years across wealth management, fintech, alternatives, FIG M&A, and post-merger integration — with tenures at SEI, Blackstone, JPMorgan, McKinsey, Barclays, and Bank of America.
Rohan Marwaha
Founder · Chief Executive Officer
Dev Patel
Founder · CTO
Sara Murphy
Chief Product Officer
Joe Ujobai
Head of Strategic Partnerships
David Coyle
Head of Growth
David Arumala
Head of Strategy
Aiyappa Bollera
Head of GTM
Ademola Adewale-Sadik
Head of M&A
Dawn Crandlemire
Head of Finance
Alumni of
Section 2
The proposed solution.
A single contract, a single data model, and a white-labeled program for DPL's RIA members — built around how the partnership works in practice.
Section 2Proposed Solution
DPL's white-label program.
A program for DPL's largest enterprise RIA members to replicate existing mutual fund and ETF strategies inside variable annuities, through their own white-labeled Variable Insurance Trusts.
Target firms
5–15
Enterprise RIA members
Allocation target
5–10%
Tax-deferred wrapper
Initial strategies
1–2
Per firm, expanding over time
Target launch
Sep–Oct
2026
Section 2Proposed Solution
Ten contracts. Or one.
The same fund architecture exists either way. The only question is whether the infrastructure layer is one partner — or ten.
Without Aqua
10 contracts · 10 vendors
InvestorsRIA client investors
PlatformDPL — Avenew technology platform
AnnuityVariable annuity (insurance carrier)
FundVIT Fund (Series Trust)
Fund infra & ops
Fund CounselFund BoardFund AdminTransfer AgentTax FirmBoard CounselAuditorCustodianInvestor ServicesCompliance
SecuritiesUnderlying investment securities
DPL coordinates 10+ vendor relationships per fund.
With Aqua
1 contract · 1 partner
InvestorsRIA client investors
PlatformDPL — Avenew technology platform
AnnuityVariable annuity (insurance carrier)
FundVIT Fund (Series Trust)
Fund infra & opsAqua — everything included
SecuritiesUnderlying investment securities
DPL coordinates zero vendor relationships. Each fund is white-labeled to the RIA member firm running the strategy. Bring your own vendor or use Aqua's preferred vendors — Aqua coordinates them all under the same single contract.
Section 2Proposed Solution
Everything under one roof.
Six pillars, one contract, one accountability surface — all delivered by Aqua.
Aqua — the platform
Single contractSingle data modelFully white-label
01
Series Trust
SEC-registered and operational. No 12–18 month cold start, no recruiting independent directors from scratch.
02
Fund Administration
NAV calculation, financial reporting, and regulatory filings. End-to-end, from day one.
03
Custodian and transfer agent
Unified custody and shareholder servicing through a single integration point.
04
Legal & Compliance
Fund counsel, insurance counsel, and CCO. All coordinated under one engagement.
05
Audit, Tax & Governance
Independent audit, tax services, and an existing Board of Trustees already in place.
06
Technology & Reporting
Unified data platform across all fund operations. No cross-vendor reconciliation.
Bring your own vendor or use Aqua's preferred vendors. Aqua coordinates the full stack under a single contract.
Section 2Proposed Solution
One data model. Not ten integrations.
Most fund-infrastructure stacks are loosely-coordinated vendor relationships with separate data systems. Aqua operates as a single platform: every layer reads from a unified source of truth.
One reconciliation pass. One source of truth. One audit trail.
Section 2Proposed Solution
ETFs and mutual funds today. Every alternative asset class next.
Today, we can replicate existing ETF and mutual fund strategies inside variable annuities. As DPL's program scales, the same Aqua infrastructure will support expansion to other asset classes, without any additional headache or operational burden for your team.
01
ETFs and mutual funds
Replicated inside variable annuity wrappers, white-labeled to each DPL RIA member.
Now
02
Real estate
Real-asset exposures structured inside the same trust framework as the program scales.
Next
03
Infrastructure and private credit
Yield-oriented infrastructure debt, private credit, and direct lending sleeves — same trust, same data model.
Next
04
Venture capital and private equity
Long-duration equity exposures via feeders and access vehicles — coordinated under one Aqua engagement.
Next
Section 2Proposed Solution
How Aqua plugs intoDPL.
Whenever DPL needs a VIT set up, Aqua sets up and runs the infrastructure end-to-end, and connects directly with DPL's systems. The experience is seamless and fully-integrated, with no operational burden for DPL.
DPL
What DPL already does.
RIA member relationships and distribution.The Avenew platform, member firm engagement, and advisor education programs continue under DPL.
Strategic direction.DPL leads on strategy selection, member onboarding sequence, and program positioning to advisors.
Commercial structure and program scope.Pricing, prioritization, and program direction sit with DPL.
What Aqua takes care of.
Series trust and fund formation.SEC-registered trust, board governance, and fund counsel coordinated under a single engagement.
Fund administration, custody, and transfer agency.NAV calculation, financial reporting, regulatory filings, and shareholder servicing.
Third-party coordination.Custodian, fund administrator, auditor, and tax provider engagement managed by Aqua.
Document and operations workflow.Subscription documents, AML/KYC, and ongoing reporting executed through Aqua's unified data model.
Compliance and ongoing governance.CCO oversight, board reporting, and regulatory monitoring included in the platform.
Section 2Competitive Landscape
The best full-stack solution in the market.
There are three possible paths to creating the VIT structure that DPL is seeking. Aqua is the only full-stack service provider that offers the entire operational bundle as a single integrated offering.
Launching with Aqua
One integrated engagement, one accountable partner.
What DPL has to handle
Aqua coordinates all of it
Contracts
1
Vendors on DPL
0
Time to first launch
~90 days
Internal FTE
0
Large fund administrators
Administration handled; the rest of the stack is on DPL.
What DPL still has to handle
Series trustFund counselComplianceBoard governanceCustodianTransfer agentAuditorTaxTechnologyData reconciliation
Contracts
5–8
Vendors on DPL
5–8
Time to first launch
6–9 months
Internal FTE
3–6
Build it yourself
Every layer sourced, contracted, and managed by DPL.
What DPL has to handle
Series trustSEC registrationFund counselComplianceBoard governanceCustodianFund administratorTransfer agentAuditorTaxTechnologyData reconciliation
Contracts
8–10+
Vendors on DPL
8–10+
Time to first launch
12–18 months
Internal FTE
6–12
Section 2Proposed Solution
At $20B AUM, the gap becomes $24M / year.
All-in cost = vendor fees + internal ops headcount required to coordinate them. Modeled across the full DPL program.
Build it yourself
10+ vendor contracts · ~13 internal ops FTE
$52M/yr
Series-trust providers
Trust+admin bundled · 4–5 separate vendors · ~9 FTE
$40M/yr
Aqua – $24M / yr
Single contract · 0 coordination FTE on DPL's side
Series-trust providersTrust+admin bundled at ~10 bps · still need 4–5 separate vendor contracts (~8 bps) · 3–9 internal FTE
AquaSingle contract: 25 / 20 / 15 / 10 bps tiered · zero coordination FTE on DPL's side
Model includes
Section 2Proposed Solution
DPL's RIAs run the strategy. We run the rest.
A clean separation of responsibilities. The RIA serves as sub-advisor focused on investment management; Aqua delivers every other layer of the fund.
End investors
RIA's clients
High-net-worth and institutional clients allocating to alternatives through their RIA's variable annuity program.
— Existing relationship
Wrapper
Variable annuity
Insurance carrier provides the tax-deferred wrapper. DPL's distribution arm handles carrier integration.
— Carrier-side fees
Fund
VIT fund
SEC-registered fund inside Aqua's series trust. One trust, many sub-funds — one per RIA strategy.
— Fund-level economics
Investment management
RIA as sub-advisor
RIA member firm runs the strategy. Investment policy, security selection, portfolio construction, performance reporting.
Sub-advisory fee Bulk of fund economics
Operations & infrastructure
Aqua
Series trust, fund admin, NAV, custody, transfer agency, compliance, audit, governance, regulatory filings, technology, reporting.
Management fee Tiered (25 → 10 bps)
Section 3
Time to market.
Two structural paths from idea to fund launch: building independently, or launching under a structure managed by Aqua.
Section 3Time-to-Market
Build it yourself. Or launch in 90 days.
DPL can register a new series trust from scratch, or launch under a structure managed by Aqua.
Build your own trust
The DIY path
Engage fund counsel — negotiate engagement
Draft registration statement — SEC review cycles
Recruit independent board and audit committee
Engage custodian, transfer agent, administrator, and auditor separately
SEC effectiveness — operational readiness
Time to first launch
12–18 months
Leverage Aqua
The Aqua path
Define fund strategy and investment parameters
Aqua creates the trust structure for the program
Operational setup — vendors already in place
Launch — first live fund
Time to first launch
~90 days
Each additional product launches under the same structure — faster every time.
Section 4
Case studies.
A representative selection of fund launches and ongoing platform partnerships, with operational metrics from each engagement.
Section 4Case Studies
Some of our current partnerships.
Case studies from other engagements where we have worked with firms to set up custom financial structures and access vehicles.
Case · 01
Multi-Stage Growth Investor
SEC-registered retail access fund.
Structure
SEC-registered retail access fund — evergreen, tender-offer style.
Aqua's role
Product manufacturer — fund infrastructure, operations, series trust, compliance, and distribution via platform.
Timeline
Currently in structuring.
Outcome
Nine-figure fund launch in Q3 2026.
Case · 02
Large Bay Area Multi-Family Office
White-labeled fund-of-funds.
Structure
White-labeled fund-of-funds structure operated end-to-end on the Aqua platform.
Aqua's role
Full-stack operations, infrastructure, and compliance.
Timeline
Two months from kickoff to live program.
Outcome
1% of overall AUM allocated in month one; growing 20% QoQ.
Case · 03
Large NY-Based RIA
Series co-invest structure.
Structure
Series co-invest structure built for repeated, programmatic launches across strategies.
Aqua's role
Full-stack operations, infrastructure, and compliance.
Timeline
Two-week launch cadence per fund.
Outcome
12 series trusts launched to date.
Multi-stage growth equity
Evergreen vehicle
Continuous-offering structure with quarterly liquidity
Engaged to support a new evergreen vehicle with quarterly liquidity. Coordinated the manager's existing counsel and custodian under the Aqua engagement.
Vehicle
Evergreen
Liquidity
Quarterly
Vendors mgr'd by client
2
Status
Live
Section 5Commercial Structure
Partnership economics. Not a vendor fee.
Aqua's fee schedule steps down as program AUM grows. Per-dollar economics improve as DPL scales the program across its membership.
Rate (bps)Program AUM
Included in the management fee
SEC-registered series trust + Board of Trustees
Fund administration, NAV, regulatory filings
Custody and transfer agency
Fund counsel, insurance counsel, CCO
Independent audit and tax
Unified technology and reporting platform
Effective blended rate
Total program AUM$2.0B
Blended fee
22.5bps
$1B at 25 bps · $1B at 20 bps
Atypical structures, hybrid vendor arrangements, and bespoke commercial terms welcome — we'll engineer the partnership around what works.
Section 6
Ongoing support.
Aqua's post-launch operating model: workstream leads, communication cadence, and ongoing governance for the partnership.
Section 6Ongoing Support
The operating model.
A defined operating model with named workstream leads, direct escalation paths, and a recurring partnership cadence post-launch.
01
Dedicated team
A dedicated relationship team for DPL with continuity across every launch. Direct line to leadership.
Relationship lead and customer success
Direct line to leadership
Shared communication channel for the engagement
Continuity across launches
02
Joint project plan
A structured project plan from kickoff to launch with clear milestones built around DPL's needs.
Joint project plan, kickoff to launch
Clear milestones built around DPL's needs
Weekly touchpoints
Section 6Ongoing Support
Enterprise-grade controls and posture.
Aqua meets the highest industry standards for security, privacy, and operational resilience — with independent audit, cyber insurance, and D&O coverage at institutional limits.
SOC 1 Type II
Compliant
SOC 2 Type II
Compliant
SAML SSO
Enterprise identity provider integration with single sign-on.
Audit logs
Immutable trail across every administrative action and data access.
Role-based access
Granular permissions, segregation of duties, least-privilege defaults.
Data lifecycle
Encrypted at rest and in transit; retention and deletion governed by policy.
BCP / DR
Tested business continuity and disaster recovery procedures with defined RTOs.
Continuous monitoring
Real-time observability across security events, infrastructure, and data flows.
ClosingHow we get DPL live
Engagement scoping at a glance.
From signed engagement to first NAV in approximately 12 weeks. Five concurrent workstreams, one accountable owner per workstream on each side.
W1
W2
W3
W4
W5
W6
W7
W8
W9
W10
W11
W12
Strategy & investment designRIA + Aqua + DPL
Define · IPS · sub-advisory terms
Series amendment & SECAqua fund counsel
Draft · file · review · effectiveness
Carrier & sub-account integrationAqua + DPL distribution
Carrier onboarding · sub-account setup
Operational setupAqua ops + RIA
Custody · NAV cadence · reporting · UAT
Compliance & governanceAqua CCO + Trust Board
Board notice · compliance review · sign-off
Launch & first NAVAll workstreams
Go live
OperationsRegulatory + integrationLaunch & first NAV milestoneEach subsequent fund: ~6 weeks under the same trust
FDE
Forward-deployed engineer model. Aqua embeds an FDE with DPL for the duration of each launch. They sit in DPL's tools, on DPL's calls, with full context on DPL's roadmap. No "submit a ticket" handoffs — they are responsible for getting DPL operationally perfect.
ClosingLet's build this together
×
Let's build this together.
Aqua can serve as a long-term operating partner for DPL — from first fund launch to a full-scale program.
Establish a partnership structure between DPL & Aqua, and align on the first product to onboard.
Within a week
Refined proposal & term sheet
A revised proposal built around what we discussed today, with commercial terms tuned to DPL's economics.
First product live
Onboarding starts immediately
Joint kickoff with DPL. Aqua handles the operational stack end-to-end.
Appendix · A1Who we serve
Built for the full wealth channel.
Aqua's platform is an operating layer for players across the wealth channel alternatives ecosystem — from independent RIAs and broker-dealers to fund managers and the technology providers that connect them, we are a partner to the ecosystem.
Wealth managers
Independent RIAs, wealth managers, and MFOs.
Independent advisors and family offices building proprietary investment programs and accessing alternatives at scale.
Broker-dealers
Independent broker-dealers.
IBDs running alternative investment programs that flow through compliant, audit-ready operational infrastructure.
Sponsors
Fund managers and financial sponsors.
Real estate, private credit, energy, and multi-strategy sponsors processing subscriptions and ongoing investor servicing on the platform.
Tech & service
Technology partners and service providers.
Wealth-tech platforms, custodians, and trust companies that integrate or rely on the Aqua operating layer.
Appendix · A2Scale of the Aqua platform
Scale of the Aqua platform.
Fund-manager AUM on the platform
$1.4T+
Cumulative assets under management across fund managers operating on the Aqua platform.
RIA and Wealth Manager AUM on the platform
$2.7T+
Assets under management across RIAs and wealth managers serviced through the platform.
Annual transaction volume
$3.4B
Transactions processed through the Aqua platform on an annual basis.
Appendix · A3Step-down fee schedule
Tiered economics, scaled with the program.
Aqua's bundled fee steps down at defined AUM breakpoints — per-dollar economics improve as the program scales.
Aqua bundled fee (bps)Program AUM
Included in the bundled fee
SEC-registered series trust + Board of Trustees
Fund administration, NAV, regulatory filings
Custody and transfer agency
Fund counsel, insurance counsel, CCO
Independent audit and tax
Unified technology and reporting platform
Effective blended rate
Total program AUM$2.0B
Blended Aqua fee
22.5bps
$1B at 25 bps · $1B at 20 bps
Atypical structures, hybrid vendor arrangements, and bespoke commercial terms are accommodated. The schedule above is the standard reference; final terms are negotiated with DPL.
Appendix · A4Implementation timeline
Our proposed implementation process and timeline.
Representative engagement plan with five concurrent work streams, around 12 weeks from concept to live fund.
W1
W2
W3
W4
W5
W6
W7
W8
W9
W10
W11
W12
Strategy and investment designSub-advisor and Aqua
Define · IPS · sub-advisory terms
Series amendment and SECAqua fund counsel
Draft · file · review · effectiveness
Carrier and sub-account integrationAqua and distribution partner
Carrier onboarding · sub-account setup
Operational setupAqua operations and sub-advisor
Custody · NAV cadence · reporting · UAT
Compliance and governanceAqua CCO and Trust Board
Board notice · compliance review · sign-off
Launch — first live fundAll workstreams
Go live
OperationsRegulatory and integrationLaunch and live-fund milestoneEach subsequent product: approximately six weeks under the same structure
Reference plan. Actual DPL engagement plan will be co-built with DPL's team based on the program structure agreed in this conversation.
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Aqua — the platform
Launching with Aqua