Digitised securities platform iSTOX announced that it has listed a unicorn fund in digitised securities form, allowing the creation of security tokens where manual processes can be automated and minimum investment ticket sizes to be reduced to US$20,000. This expands participation in unicorn investing to all accredited investors.
iSTOX is backed by Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Temasek Holdings subsidiary Heliconia Capital Management. With the use of blockchain and smart contract technology, iSTOX enables the tokenisation and fractionalisation of securities, in this case, units in the unicorn fund. iSTOX is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a platform for the issuance, custody and secondary trading of digitised securities.
Unicorn funds, like many other private funds, have done traditional, non-digitised launches, with investors typically having to meet high minimum thresholds of US$100,000 to US$1 million. This is due to inefficiencies under the traditional issuance method that make it impossible for a fund to handle large numbers of smaller investors.
The ICHAM Unicorn Opportunity Fund will invest in unicorns by buying equity from existing shareholders in the secondary market. The fund will build a diversified portfolio of late-stage, highly-valuable unicorns in the US, Europe and Asia.
Specifically, the fund will target companies with a well-defined business model that demonstrates sustainable growth. Additionally, the companies should have a disruptive impact in their chosen fields, and a 24-to-36-month visibility of an exit event, such as an IPO.
The fund manager is ICHAM, a Singapore-regulated wealth and fund management company chaired by the former Finance Minister of Thailand Dr Uttama Savanayana. The ICHAM Unicorn Opportunity Fund concluded its initial offering period earlier this month after raising close to US$20 million that it aims to invest in billion-dollar companies globally.
Choo Oi Yee, Chief Commercial Officer of iSTOX said,
“Unicorns are one of the most promising and in-demand investment types. However, access to unicorns has traditionally been limited to institutional investors, angel investors and other ultra-high-net-worth individuals. iSTOX is excited to help launch the ICHAM Unicorn Opportunity Fund, which transforms unicorn investing by extending a seat at the table to all accredited investors.
Archan Chamapun, Chief Executive Officer of ICHAM, said,
“We are delighted to be able to offer unicorn investing opportunities to all investors on board the iSTOX platform. Unicorns constitute a new and growing asset class that investors need to allocate funds to, as part of a balanced portfolio. What the ICHAM Unicorn Opportunity Fund can offer investors is access to unicorns in small bite-size units, to enable better portfolio construction.
The fund has an initial charter period of four years. Thereafter, the ICHAM board of directors can extend the fund for up to two years. Investors who have subscribed to the ICHAM Unicorn Opportunity Fund will also have access to the proprietary exchange iSTOX has built to allow the secondary buying and selling of securities among the fund’s investors, enhancing the liquidity and value of those investments.
