Deutsche Börse acquires outstanding shares of leading digitised fund distribution platform FundsDLT

Global market infrastructure provider Deutsche Börse Group will acquire the remaining shares in FundsDLT. The Luxembourg-based company is a leading decentralised platform based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) for end-to-end fund distribution and processing. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter 2023 or the first quarter 2024, subject to regulatory approval. 

In March 2020 and via its post-trade infrastructure provider Clearstream, Deutsche Börse Group joined forces with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Natixis Investment Managers to invest in and further develop FundsDLT as the first platform to carry out fund subscription on blockchain infrastructure. Credit Suisse Asset Management together with Natixis Investment Managers have also contributed significantly to the development of the FundsDLT platform as major clients. 

As a key strategic partner and significant minority shareholder of FundsDLT since its initial stages, Deutsche Börse Group has always shown strong commitment to the company as well as to the relevance of the digital strategy and technology in the funds distribution and processing chain. It has helped the platform to grow, driving efficiency and transparency for Clearstream clients. The former shareholders Credit Suisse Asset Management together with UBS Asset Management as well as Natixis Investment Managers remain committed as clients, helping Clearstream drive the use case development further.

FundsDLT has successfully demonstrated the advantages of a blockchain-based distribution model for investment funds in several locations across Europe and Asia and is established as a leading solution for digital cross-border distribution.

The acquisition of all outstanding shares of FundsDLT by Deutsche Börse's corporate venture capital arm DB1 Ventures will make FundsDLT technology and services an integral part of Clearstream’s fund service offering. This step will enable the technology to move to a more industrial scale, complementing and strengthening Clearstream’s current fund processing and distribution offering. The integration will drive existing live blockchain-based end-to-end fund transactions, backed by Clearstream’s fund processing platform Vestima, allowing more efficient, scalable and faster fund investing for all market participants. 

“The acquisition of FundsDLT is a critical and natural step in our digital strategy. It demonstrates our position at the forefront of innovation and will redefine the overall distribution chain of the fund business,” stated Philippe Seyll, CEO of Clearstream Fund Centre S.A. “It enriches distribution capabilities, is streamlining operations and bringing asset managers closer to retail clients through blockchain. We will see measurable benefits for market participants, including faster time to market and cheaper access to funds,” he added. 

“Becoming part of the Deutsche Börse Group is an exciting step for FundsDLT and is timely to accelerate our growth,” explained Olivier Portenseigne, CEO of FundsDLT. “Clearstream has a long history of driving innovation and shares our vision, values and our commitment to this new generation of market infrastructure. Our goal is to enable fund distributors and asset managers, thanks to blockchain and fund tokenization, to simplify their business and operating model and roll out the technology foundation to enable their clients to connect to fund products anywhere, in an easier and in a more cost-effective manner,” he added.

About Deutsche Börse

As an international exchange organisation and innovative market infrastructure provider, Deutsche Börse Group ensures capital markets that are transparent, reliable and stable. With its wide range of products, services and technologies, the Group organises safe and efficient markets for sustainable economies.  
Its business areas cover the entire financial market transaction process chain. This includes the provision of indices, data and analytical solutions as well as admission, trading and clearing. Additionally, it comprises services for funds, the settlement and custody of financial instruments as well as the management of collateral and liquidity. As a technology company, the Group develops state-of-the-art IT solutions and offers IT systems all over the world. 

With more than 11,000 employees, the Group has its headquarters in the financial centre of Frankfurt/Rhine-Main, as well as a strong global presence in locations such as Luxembourg, Prague, Cork, London, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney.

About Clearstream Fund Services

Clearstream is the innovative and trusted post-trade business for the global markets. Its segment Clearstream Fund Services delivers solutions for the entire fund ecosystem via its three key business lines: 
Vestima as the world’s largest fund processing platform provides order execution, settlement and custody services for more than 230,000 funds, ensuring highest asset safety for over 50 fund markets worldwide. 
Fund Centre, one of the leading European fund distribution platforms, connects international asset managers and fund houses with distribution partners, providing access to over 72,000 funds.  
Kneip as one of the leading European fund data hubs provides premier fund data management and reporting solutions for the asset management industry.  
Clearstream is part of Deutsche Börse Group, an international exchange organisation and provider of innovative market infrastructures. 
To learn more, visit us at www.clearstream.com or connect via LinkedIn. 

About FundsDLT

FundsDLT enables all actors of the investment fund distribution chain (asset managers, asset services, distributors and advisors) to sell funds through a new generation and decentralised platform, significantly reducing administration costs and the time to process transactions. FundsDLT streamline a range of repetitive fund operational activities by using blockchain to automate several processes in a secure manner. 
For more information on FundsDLT, please visit: www.fundsdlt.net