by Juan Aranovich, editorial research
What happened?
Hamilton Lane, one of the world's largest private market investment firms, has made its flagship direct equity fund, Equity Opportunities Fund V, available for individual investments through a tokenized feeder fund on Securitize, a platform expanding access to private market asset classes.
The new tokenized fund will provide individual investors with increased access to the private equity asset class, which has historically outperformed the S&P 500 by 70% over the past 20 years. The minimum investment has been reduced from an average of $5 million to $20,000.
Shares in the fund will be tokenized on the Polygon blockchain, which is fully compatible with the Ethereum ecosystem and is rapidly becoming the blockchain of choice for major institutions, such as Instagram, Disney, Starbucks, and many more.
Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize, stated that the new tokenized fund is a major step in democratizing the private markets and expanding access to the private equity asset class. Hamilton Lane's Victor Jung, Head of Digital Assets, expressed excitement about launching the Fund on the Securitize platform and increasing usability and transparency through blockchain technology.
Why does it matter?
This move highlights the growing trend of traditional financial institutions adopting blockchain technology to expand access to high-performing private markets asset classes. The tokenization of private funds via blockchain technology opens up new opportunities for investors and fund managers, as it offers greater accessibility, increased security, and more scalability.
While $20,000 is still prohibitive for most of the world, it underscores the potential for blockchain technology to promote financial democratization.