Janus Henderson, managing assets worth $360 billion, joins other Wall Street giants in exploring blockchain technology. The company is taking over the $11 million Anemoy Liquid Treasury Fund, which invests in short-term US Treasury bills, by tokenizing it.
Why Blockchain? Why Now?
The shift to blockchain is driven by cost reduction and efficiency gains. Blockchain allows cutting out intermediaries and making financial products available to investors faster and cheaper. Nick Cherney, head of innovation at Janus Henderson, said, "We need to be in a position for what’s next. The way I see it, huge parts of the financial system will likely move onto distributed ledger technology in the coming years." MJ Lytle, CEO of Tabula Investment Management, notes, "We’ve seen management fees fall drastically, but other costs haven’t come down nearly as fast. Blockchain might be the solution."
Decentralized Systems
Martin Quensel, co-founder of Anemoy, believes that tokenization allows investors to trade fund units at any time with almost instant settlement. "Without needing third-party custodians, clearinghouses, or other intermediaries, significant sums of money can be saved."
Tokenization and the Future of ETFs
Anil Sood, Chief Investment Officer of Anemoy, predicts that tokenization poses a threat to the ETF industry: "We’ve seen people convert mutual funds into ETFs. But in the future, mutual funds might skip ETFs altogether and go straight to digital tokens." Vikas Shah of Rosenblatt Securities adds, "We’ve entered a new phase in crypto. It’s all about institutional adoption now."
Tokenization is transforming the financial landscape, blending traditional finance with cutting-edge blockchain technology. This makes financial products more accessible and reduces costs, significantly impacting the industry’s future.
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