Private markets investor Hamilton Lane to tokenise fund on ADDX

PRIVATE markets investment firm Hamilton Lane has partnered digital securities exchange ADDX to tokenise one of its funds for the first time.

The Hamilton Lane Global Private Assets Fund (GPA) will be investable at a minimum ticket size of US$10,000 on ADDX, instead of the usual US$125,000 or more via traditional channels.

In a statement, ADDX said Hamilton Lane has become one of the earliest private markets investment firms to tokenise a fund.

The GPA is an open-ended fund investing in direct equity and secondary investments, and direct credit. To date, it has invested in assets across 9 industries, with about half its deals in the information technology and industrials sector.

The GPA had over US$1.845 billion in assets as at end-January. It has returned 16.11 per cent on a net annualised basis since its inception in May 2019.

Hamilton Lane is one of the world's largest allocators of capital into private markets; it deployed about US$37 billion in capital last year. The firm has US$851 billion in assets under management and supervision.

Juan Delgado-Moreira, the firm's vice-chairman and head of international, said: "Hamilton Lane is dedicated to providing access to the private markets for a broader set of investors, and 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 chief executive Oi-Yee Choo said: "Many investors don't realise that private markets are much larger than public markets. Globally, more than 90 per cent of companies with an annual turnover of US$100 million or more are private.

"For many investors, 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 private markets is more important than ever."

ADDX has listed 26 deals on its platform including Mapletree, Seatown and Investcorp. It has set its sights on US$1 billion in transaction volumes by 2023. The platform harnesses blockchain and smart contracts technology to make private market assets more accessible.