SETL and four french fund managers are aiming to go into production in 2018 with a pan-European fund record-keeping platform based on blockchain technology.
An initial version of the platform, dubbed IZNES, was delivered by SETL in July 2017 and validated by OFI AM, Groupama AM, La Financière de l’Échiquier, and Arkéa Investment Services. Designed to provide investors, asset management firms, distributors and wealth management advisers with straightforward access to fund units, the system manages KYC processes, handles subscription/redemption instructions, and settles transactions and record positions.
The early participants in the project say they are now working with other interested parties to develop an enriched version of the platform, with the intention of going into production in early 2018.
Jean-Pierre Grimaud, CEO of OFI AM, says: “OFI Asset Management wanted to be actively involved in this market project, which offers asset management firms new distribution solutions in the interest of investors thanks to blockchain technology."
Launched in July 2015 by former Chi-X founder and CEO Peter Randall, SETL is aiming to upend convoluted post-trade processes across multiple back-end use cases through the creation of a permissioned distributed ledger of ownership and transaction records purpose-built to streamline the process of matching, settlement, custody, registration and transaction reporting.
Based in London, SETL opened an office in Paris in February to pursue its Eurozone ambitions, and installed Pierre Davoust, formerly deputy head of the Financial Markets Unit at the French Treasury, as CEO.