Janus Henderson Becomes Latest Asset Manager to Explore Securities Tokenization

Global asset manager Janus Henderson is exploring securities tokenization, which could expand investment access to more investors.

The Financial Times reported Friday that the US asset manager will oversee the $11m Anemoy Liquid Treasury Fund. This fund focuses on short-term US Treasury bills. It uses blockchain to tokenize shares, enabling fractional ownership and digital trading.

Blockchain technology records each token’s ownership, transfers and transactions on an unchangeable ledger. It boosts security, reduces fraud and automates processes using smart contracts.

Janus didn’t return Cryptonews’ request for comment by press time.

Janus Joins BlackRock, Fidelity in Managing Tokenized Treasury Funds

The firm is stepping into on-chain capital markets, assuming daily management for the Anemoy fund. This open-ended fund is also available to non-US professional investors.

It joins major asset managers such as BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton, who are already managing tokenized Treasury and money market funds.

BlackRock’s fund quickly became the largest tokenized Treasury fund, overtaking Franklin Templeton’s offering . It attracted significant deposits, showcasing strong investor interest in tokenized assets.

Janus Exec Envisions Future of Finance on Blockchain

Nick Cherney, Janus Henderson’s innovation head, told the FT the move ensures the firm is prepared for the future. He also mentioned a significant opportunity to engage in and influence the future development of financial systems.

“I think it’s extremely likely that significant parts of the architecture of financial systems moves on to distributed ledger technology,” Cherney said.

Cherney noted that Janus Henderson sees significant advantages in how financial services are delivered, although the future development over the next 5-10 years is unclear.

He suggested that tokenized structures could be more transformative than ETFs, predicting that decentralized blockchain technology might impact ETFs much like ETFs have changed mutual funds.