Schroders acquires stake in Zug-based digital assets firm Forteus

Schroders, one of Europe’s largest investment management firms with over £731.6 billion ($990.9 billion) in assets under management (AUM), has taken a minority stake in digital assets manager Forteus, according to details shared in a press release on Tuesday.

The investment in Forteus, an asset management arm of Swiss-based digital assets investment company Numeus Group, will allow Schroders to support educational and research projects in the blockchain space.

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The company will also use the strategic investment as a foundation towards developing blockchain-based investment solutions targeted at benefitting its clients.

Schroders’ tokenization strategy

As part of its investment goal, Schroders is also eyeing blockchain’s “transformational benefits”, with the aim of using the technology to advance its tokenization strategy. In this case, the firm sees blockchain as a crucial pillar for the asset management industry – especially in the democratisation of private assets.

Peter Harrison, the Group CEO at Schroders commented:

Blockchain will be a catalyst for fundamental change within asset management, financial services at large, and many other industries more broadly. It not only has the potential to transform the efficiency of existing solutions but will drive the democratisation of private assets; it represents a new frontier of technological and financial innovation.”

Forteus, which is based in ‘Crypto Valley’ in the crypto-friendly Zug region, will offer access to several investment solutions, including yield generation, customised portfolios of external managers, and actively-managed thematic portfolios.

These capabilities will be accessible to Schroders’ clients once they are available, the company said.