Europe’s largest asset manager Amundi has tokenised its first fund, a money market fund.
The first transaction took place on November 4 and the fund is distributed in a hybrid manner: remaining accessible in the traditional way but also now via a tokenized share.
The fund uses distributed ledger technology and the public Ethereum blockchain to ensure transparent record-keeping of fund units and traceability of transactions.
The launch was carried out in partnership with Paris-based asset servicing firm Caceis which provided the technology and infrastructure for tokenising fund units, digital portfolios for investors and the digital order platform for subscriptions and redemptions.
The use of blockchain technology brings several benefits for investors and fund unit distributors: instant order execution, expanded distribution to new generations of investors and 24/7 operability.
Jean-Jacques Barbéris, Head of Institutional, Corporate Clients and ESG at Amundi, said: “The tokenization of assets is a transformation set to accelerate in the coming years around the world.
“This first initiative on a money market fund demonstrates our expertise and the robustness of our methodology in covering concrete use cases. Amundi will continue and expand its tokenisation initiatives to benefit its clients in France and internationally.”
Jean-Pierre Michalowski, Chief Executive Officer at Caceis said: “With the new hybrid transfer agent service, our clients can quickly and easily benefit from a new distribution channel via blockchain to their investors.
“This is a decisive step towards achieving our goal of offering 24/7 subscription and redemption services for investment fund units payable in stable coins (EMT) or central bank digital currency when it becomes available.”
