Schroders has taken a strategic minority stake in Forteus, an asset manager focused on blockchain technology and digital assets that is headed by senior former executives from the alternative investment industry.
Forteus – which is based in Zug with an office in New York – is the asset management arm of the Numeus Group, a diversified digital asset investment firm led by Nobel Gulati, who was formerly CEO at leading US-based systematic hedge fund group Two Sigma Advisors.
The non-executive chairman of Forteus is Gideon Berger, former co-CIO of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, and other seasoned hedge fund executives in the Numeus team include Argentiere founder Deepak Gulati and Amplitude founder Karsten Schroder.
Schroders said it chosen to invest in a leading-edge specialist in blockchain technology and digital assets in order to support its ongoing education and research in this sector and to develop investment solutions for the benefit of its clients.
“Learning from the Numeus research and technology platform will enable Schroders to harness the transformational benefits that blockchain can bring to the asset management industry and develop our tokenisation strategy,” the firm said in a statement.
Forteus will offer a range of investment solutions which span customised portfolios of external managers, yield generation, actively managed thematic portfolios and, over the long term, tokenisation. Once available, Schroders will give clients access to Forteus capabilities where appropriate.
Peter Harrison, CEO of 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.”
Said Nobel Gulati, Numeus Group CEO: “We are very excited to welcome Schroders as a founding investor in Forteus. Together, we will build upon Numeus’ expertise in digital assets, technology and quantitative research combined with Schroders’ leading brand, vast capabilities in asset management, and global distribution. This will enable us to serve investors who up until now have struggled to access robust investment opportunities in this fast-evolving asset class.”
