Sygnum Bank, Hamilton Lane and Apex Group Expand Access to Private Markets via DLT-Registered Shares in USD 3.8bn Fund
ZÜRICH, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sygnum, a global digital asset banking group; Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE), a leading global private markets investment management firm; and financial services firm Apex Group are expanding access to global private markets via new DLTi-registered shares on the Polygon blockchain.
- Innovative approach aims to increase fund management efficiency and broaden investor access by automating and integrating traditionally separate functions
- First to feature new share-class will be Hamilton Lane's Luxembourg based USD 3.8bn Global Private Assets (GPA) Fund which has an annual average performance growth of 14.6 percent since 2019
- DLT-registered share class enables significantly lower fund entry points – while retaining the full advantages of the GPA Fund's traditional shares
Sygnum Bank, Hamilton Lane, and Apex Group today announce a cross industry project that expands global private market access to significantly larger and more diverse groups of qualified investors. Leveraging the power of the blockchain, the new DLT-registered share class automates and integrates traditionally separate fund management functions, increasing both accessibility and efficiency. The first fund to feature the new share class will be Hamilton Lane's USD 3.8bn GPA Fund, which has an annual average performance growth of 14.6 percent and has outperformed the MSCI World Net Total Return Index (USD) by 4.44 percent since inception in 2019ii.
Leveraging Sygnum's DLT solutions, the minimum investment has a significantly lower fund entry point than direct investments into traditional private markets' evergreen funds. These DLT-registered shares will be available exclusively to Sygnum professional, institutional and corporate clientsiii.
The unique investment opportunity is the result of a strategic, cross-industry project underway for more than a year. Hamilton Lane, a leading global private markets investment firm with over USD 900bn in assets under management and supervisioniv, will serve as investment manager for the new offering. Apex Group, in its role as transfer agent and fund administrator (via Apex Fund Services regulated in Luxembourg), and FundRock-LRI, in its role as Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM), is leveraging Sygnum's DLT solution to manage the on-chain share registry.
Victor Jung, Head of Digital Assets at Hamilton Lane, says "We strongly believe that tokenisation has the potential to transform the way investors gain access to the historically strong returns and performance opportunities within the private markets, and are delighted to announce this digital-native, institutional-grade offering with Sygnum and Apex. This joint initiative with the Swiss Private Wealth team underscores the region as a leading digital asset hub that we believe will serve as a catalyst for broader adoption within the banking and wealth management industry. We would like to invite the community to join us in this movement."
Fatmire Bekiri, Sygnum Head of Tokenisation, says "The new DLT-registered share class in Hamilton Lane's GPA Fund marks the first entry in Apex's on-chain share register. This is a significant breakthrough in making private markets more broadly accessible and investible via DLT solutions. We are proud to join forces with other industry leaders like Hamilton Lane and Apex, and we look forward to this strategic partnership delivering a series of new and unique opportunities for investors, as well as heralding positive, blockchain-powered change for the industry."
Bruce Jackson, CFA, Apex Group Chief of Digital Asset Funds and Business says "Hamilton Lane will raise new investor capital, while expanding direct access to their GPA Fund offering. Clients of Sygnum Bank now have access to a sophisticated alternative asset class, designed to achieve significant alpha through uncorrelated investment returns. Apex continues to meet its goal of increasing access for its clients' alternative strategies and will continue to perfect its Framework Operating Model for the distribution of alternative asset funds using blockchain as the subscription, onboarding, operating, administration, and transfer agency platform."
This unique investment opportunity is made possible by Sygnum's expertise in leveraging the blockchain's capabilities in a fully regulated environment. Novel project aspects include the "fractionalisation" of assets to enable smaller investment entry-points, streamlined compliance, the end-to-end automation of the on-chain share registry and transfer agent activities, as well as increased levels of transparency due to the open nature of DLT. This project is built on the Polygon blockchain.
According to McKinseyv, the +300% growth of global private markets fundraising between 2009 and 2022 was due to its consistent outperformance of public markets. However, the multi-million-dollar commitments that were typically required to participate in this high-growth market have, until now, limited private markets exposure for many in the broader investment community.
About Sygnum
Sygnum is a global digital asset banking group, founded on Swiss and Singapore heritage. We empower professional and institutional investors, banks, corporates and DLT foundations to invest in digital assets with complete trust. Our team enables this through our institutional-grade security, expert personal service and portfolio of regulated digital asset banking, asset management, tokenisation and B2B services. In Switzerland, Sygnum holds a banking licence and has CMS and Major Payment Institution Licences in Singapore. The group is also regulated in the established global financial hubs of Abu Dhabi and Luxembourg. We believe that the future has heritage. Our crypto-native team of banking, investment and digital asset technology professionals are building a trusted gateway between the traditional and digital asset economies that we call Future Finance. To learn more about how Sygnum's mission and values are shaping this digital asset ecosystem, visit www.sygnum.com.
Sygnum media contact:
Dom Castley, Chief Marketing Officer
T: +41 58 508 21 01
E: dominic.castley@sygnum.com
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About Hamilton Lane
Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE) is one of the largest private markets investment firms globally, providing innovative solutions to institutional and private wealth investors around the world. Dedicated exclusively to private markets investing for more than 30 years, the firm currently employs nearly 700 professionals operating in offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Hamilton Lane has approximately $903 billion in assets under management and supervision, composed of $120 billion in discretionary assets and nearly $783 billion in non- discretionary assets, as of December 31, 2023. Hamilton Lane specializes in building flexible investment programs that provide clients access to the full spectrum of private markets strategies, sectors and geographies. For more information, please visit www.hamiltonlane.com or follow Hamilton Lane on LinkedIn.
Hamilton Lane media contact:
Immy Ransom,
Marketing and Communications Manager Europe
iransom@hamiltonlane.com
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About Apex Group
Apex Group Ltd., established in Bermuda in 2003, is a global financial services provider. With over 112 offices worldwide and 12,000+ employees in 45 countries, Apex Group delivers an expansive range of services to asset managers, financial institutions, private clients and family offices. The Group has continually improved and evolved its capabilities to offer a single-source solution through establishing the broadest range of services in the industry; including fund raising solutions, fund administration, digital onboarding and bank accounts, depositary, custody, super ManCo, corporate services and a pioneering ESG Ratings and Advisory solution. Apex Group's purpose is to be more than just a financial services provider and is committed to driving positive change to address three core areas; the Environment and Climate Change, Women's Empowerment and Economic Independence, Education and Social Mobility.
Apex Group media contact:
Chanel Townsend,
Head of Media Relations
Chanel.Townsend@apexgroup.com
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i Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) stores data on decentralised databases; blockchain a common type of DLT
ii Global Private Assets Fund | Hamilton Lane
iii Sygnum operates solely on a reverse solicitation basis outside Switzerland
iv As of December 31, 2023
v McKinsey and Company: Global Private Markets review 2023
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