Janus Henderson Investors is to enter into a new strategic partnership with Anemoy Limited and Centrifuge to manage Anemoy’s Liquid Treasury Fund (LTF), a fully on-chain, tokenised fund issued on Centrifuge’s public blockchain that provides investors with direct access to short-term US Treasury bills.
In a statement on 16 September, Janus Henderson said that it will be serving as a sub-adviser to the LTF, managing the fund’s day-to-day operations and portfolio through Tabula, a wholly owned subsidiary.
The synergy between Tabula’s specific investment tools would "be crucial to ensuring the fund meets the high standards expected by institutional investors, and Janus Henderson’s 90-year track record of financial expertise, will bring traditional investment products to on-chain capital markets, realising untapped potential in the immediate term".
Nick Cherney, head of innovation at Janus Henderson said: “This collaboration represents a significant step forward in bridging traditional and decentralised finance, by bringing robust institutional collateral pools into decentralised autonomous organisation and stablecoin ecosystems.
“Our innovation strategy is focused on preparing for the possibility that blockchain technology will transform traditional finance in the long term, and this partnership represents a unique opportunity to help shape this future, while also providing stable and compliant solutions for on-chain markets.”
As the LTF will be tokenised using Centrifuge’s blockchain technology, this will enable it to be distributed to over $170bn in idle capital on-chain. Anemoy, which owns the fund, plays a vital role at the intersection of traditional and decentralised finance, acting as a strategic conduit for Janus Henderson’s successful entry into this digital space, the statement further said.
Janus Henderson recently announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Victory Park Capital Advisors (VPC), a global private credit manager providing customised solutions to both established and emerging businesses, including decentralised finance. The VPC acquisition has further expanded Janus Henderson’s private credit and institutional capabilities, and along with the acquisition of Tabula, demonstrates the firm’s commitment to client-led innovation.
Anil Sood, co-founder of Anemoy said: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Janus Henderson and Centrifuge on this fund.
“Janus Henderson is entrusted with over US$360 billion in assets, has a 90-year legacy of investment excellence, and a client-driven solutions focus; we could not think of a better partner with which to progress tokenised innovation”.
Martin Quensel, co-founder of both Anemoy and Centrifuge, added “this partnership underscores our commitment to pioneering the integration of traditional financial products with cutting edge blockchain technology, creating new opportunities for investors, and advancing the decentralised finance ecosystem”.
"The intersection of DeFi, TradFi, and systematic investing is an area that should create huge opportunities for investors in the coming years. It is a natural overlap between the rapid expansion of ETF solutions and the need to underpin digital investments with stable, liquid stores of value, like US Treasury bills” comments Michael John Lytle, Tabula's CEO.
Utilising a public blockchain with permissioned access controls, and limiting subscriptions to investors with whitelisted wallets, is intended to mitigate the operational and compliance risks that have previously hindered widespread institutional adoption of tokenised funds.
Bhaji Illuminati, CMO at Centrifuge said: “We are delighted to be working with Janus Henderson and Anemoy to not only address key challenges in fund management, but also to open the door to scalable solutions that have the potential to transform the financial industry.
“The Anemoy Liquid Treasury Fund is a good example of how traditional finance can leverage distributed ledger technology to unlock new opportunities in the blockchain space”.
