The Global Private Assets Fund, managed by the U.S.-based private markets firm, is accessible to accredited investors on private market exchange ADDX at a minimum investment size of just US$10,000, compared to US$125,000 for investors subscribing via non-tokenized channels
Leading private markets investment firm Hamilton Lane has partnered with digital securities exchange ADDX to tokenize a class of shares issued by Hamilton Lane Global Private Assets Fund, to enable access to the private markets for a broader set of investors in Asia.
The partnership marks the first time Hamilton Lane has tokenized a fund, making it one of the earliest major private markets firms to do so and reflecting the firm’s long-standing commitment to innovation and expansion of investor access to the asset class.
Hamilton Lane’s GPA Fund will be accessible to ADDX investors at a minimum ticket size of US$10,000, compared to the minimum of US$125,000 or more for investors who subscribe via traditional, non-tokenized distribution channels.
ADDX is Asia’s largest private market exchange. Its individual accredited investors come from 39 countries spanning Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas (except the U.S.). More than half of these investors are from Asia. The platform automates manual processes in the issuance, custody and distribution of private market products, through the use of blockchain and smart contract technology. The resulting efficiency from tokenization allows ADDX to fractionalize investments in a scalable and commercially viable manner.
Global Private Assets Fund
Launched in May 2019, the GPA Fund has returned 16.11% (net) annualized since inception and has assets of more than US$1.845 billion as of 31 January 2022.
Underlying assets in the open-ended fund are composed primarily of direct equity and secondary investments, along with direct credit. To date, the Fund has invested in assets across nine industries, with about half of its deals within the information technology and industrials sectors. The remaining exposure consists of investments across a variety of sectors, including healthcare, energy and communications.
Hamilton Lane
Because of its extensive relationships and deep expertise developed over 30 years in the private markets, Hamilton Lane has access to a robust and proprietary deal pipeline, which enables its investment team to cast a wide net but be highly selective. Further, the firm is one of the world’s largest investors and allocators of capital to the private markets, having deployed approximately US$37 billion in capital in 2021.
Hamilton Lane Vice Chairman and Head of International, Juan Delgado-Moreira, said: “Hamilton Lane is dedicated to providing access to the private markets for a broader set of investors, and to doing so without some of the headaches that have historically been challenging for smaller investors. We seek to partner with firms that deliver transformative technology designed to drive our industry forward, and are excited to offer our investors access to GPA through this new platform.”
ADDX
ADDX CEO Oi-Yee Choo said: “Many investors don’t realize that the private markets are much larger than the public markets. Globally, more than 90% of companies with an annual turnover of US$100 million or more are private. For any investor, leaving private equity out of your portfolio essentially means turning one’s back on the vast majority of investment opportunities in the market. At a time of unprecedented volatility and declining returns in the public markets, diversification into the private markets is more important than ever.”
Ms Choo added: “We know the value private equity can bring to investors’ portfolios. The only missing link thus far has been the lack of access to such assets for most individual investors. With tokenization and fractionalization, ADDX is committed to plugging that gap. In doing so, we are pleased to partner with Hamilton Lane, a well-respected, world-class name in alternative investments.”
ADDX became licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a private market exchange in February 2020. Since then, ADDX has listed 26 deals on its platform involving blue-chip names such as Investcorp, UOB, CGS-CIMB, as well as Temasek-owned entities Mapletree, Azalea and SeaTown. Asset classes available on ADDX include private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate, hedge funds, funds with cryptocurrency exposure, and structured products. The platform’s draw, for issuers, is that it provides access to previously untapped capital pools and reduces both the cost and minimum threshold of fundraising projects.
About Hamilton Lane
Hamilton Lane is a leading private markets investment management firm providing innovative solutions to institutional and individual investors around the world. Dedicated exclusively to private markets investing for 30 years, the firm currently employs more than 520 professionals operating in offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Hamilton Lane has $851 billion in assets under management and supervision, composed of over $98 billion in discretionary assets and nearly $753 billion in advisory assets, as of December 31, 2021. Hamilton Lane specializes in building flexible investment programs that provide clients access to the full spectrum of private markets strategies, sectors and geographies.
About ADDX
Founded in 2017, ADDX is a full-service capital markets platform with Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) licenses for the issuance, custody and secondary trading of digital securities. The financial technology company raised US$50 million in its Series A round in January 2021. Its shareholders include Singapore Exchange (SGX), Temasek subsidiary Heliconia Capital and Japanese investors JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC-VGI) and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ). Individual accredited investors using the ADDX platform today come from 39 countries, spanning Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas (excluding the US). ADDX is owned and operated by ICHX Tech Pte Ltd. ICHX Tech has been approved by MAS as a recognised market operator (RMO). It also has a capital markets services (CMS) license to deal in securities and collective investment schemes, and to provide custodial services.
Photo by Chris Fowler on Unsplash
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