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 supervision^iv, 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 McKinsey^v, 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

Forward-Looking Statements: Some of the statements in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "will", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "plan" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements discuss management's current expectations and projections relating to our financial position, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. All forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results to be materially different. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements in the context of the risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of Hamilton Lane's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023 and subsequent reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date hereof. Hamilton Lane undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events, except as otherwise required by law.

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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To the fullest extent permitted by law, this information is provided "as is" at your sole risk and neither Apex nor any of its affiliates or third party provider makes any guarantee, representation, or warranty of any kind regarding such information. Apex and its affiliates and third party providers disclaim any warranty and all liability, whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, for any losses, liabilities, damages, expenses or costs, either direct, indirect, consequential, special or punitive, arising from or in connection with your access to and/or use of the information herein. Neither Apex nor any of its affiliated or third party providers shall have any liability, monetary or otherwise, to you or any other person or entity in the event the information presented herein produces incorrect, invalid or detrimental result. No permission is granted to modify any material herein, in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Apex, which may be withheld in Apex's sole discretion. Corporate Services and Private Client services are provided by Apex Financial Services (Jersey) Limited (registered in Jersey No. 92185) and some of its direct and indirect subsidiaries and affiliates which are licensed and regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission for the conduct of Trust Company Business &/or Fund Services Business. Registered office: 12 Castle Street, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3RT. Apex Financial Services is a trading name of Apex Financial Services (Corporate) Limited which is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission for the conduct of Trust Company Business and Fund Services Business, and as a permit holder pursuant to the Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988. Apex Group Ltd., Vallis Building, 4th Floor, 58 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda

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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