Today Deutsche Börse’s Clearstream announced a new DLT-based solution for private market funds that it developed in conjunction with asset manager Azimut. It leverages the funds distribution platform, FundsDLT, that Clearstream acquired in late 2023.
Azimut was the very first asset manager to use FundsDLT when it launched in 2021. A key goal of the DLT platform from the beginning was to reduce costs through automation and enable greater transparency. It supports the permissioned sharing of information between the asset manager, distributor and client investor, including regular reporting and asset servicing.
“By leveraging Azimut’s expertise and our robust technology, we aim to set new standards, while maintaining the highest levels of security, compliance and investor trust,” said Philippe Seyll, CEO of Clearstream Fund Services. The solution is part of the company’s automated fund processing platform, Vestima.
In today’s announcement Clearstream said it now offers a new account model that supports multiple investor portfolios under a single Clearstream Custody account. For example, this might cater to wealth managers and their clients. This structure “enables Azimut to access anonymized, detailed insights into the portfolios of individual investors.”
Beyond this partnership, Azimut is no stranger to DLT, digital assets and tokenization. In 2021 it executed its first tokenization of €5 million ($5.7m) in loans to SMEs using the tokenization platform of Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum. The asset manager led an investment round in Sygnum in early 2024 and has numerous other digital asset investments, including in bitcoin miner Alps Blockchain.
Talking about the Clearstream offering, Giorgio Medda, CEO of Azimut Holding said, “This innovative platform will provide broader access to private market strategies, along with a liquidity option that will allow investors to unlock the illiquidity premium embedded in private asset portfolios.” He added, “As pioneers in this field, we have successfully tokenized portfolios of corporate loans, private equity investments, and fund units, demonstrating our commitment to innovation and delivering enhanced investment opportunities.”
