Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane for Simulating Properties with the Libre Protocol

Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane will be the first asset managers to register assets on the upcoming Web3 infrastructure provider's Libre protocol – powered by Brevan Howard WebN and Nomura Laser Digital.

Libre is scheduled to go live in the first quarter of 2024, offering asset tokens and smart contracts through the Polygon network, supporting collateralized loans and automatically balancing individually managed accounts (SMAs).

According to a January 10 announcement, both Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane have entered into a strategic partnership with Libre to improve access to alternative investments. “We believe tokenization has the potential to transform the way investments are managed and traded,” said Victor Jung, head of digital assets at Hamilton Lane.

Alternative investments are financial assets that do not fall into the traditional categories of stocks, bonds, and cash. Compared to traditional investments, they often require higher minimum investments or a longer time horizon and are often more liquid. Some examples of alternative investments include real estate, private equity, private debt, infrastructure and hedge funds.

Tokenization, which refers to the process of converting rights to assets into digital tokens on the blockchain, has the potential to significantly impact alternative investments by increasing accessibility and liquidity, as well as allowing fractional ownership. Global Bank Citi predicts that the token market will reach $5 trillion by 2030.

We are excited to see all these RWA tokenizations coming online. The space is growing rapidly.

— Sam McPherson (@hexonaut) December 18, 2023

As for Brevan Howard, who is known for focusing on macroeconomic trading strategies, Libre allows him to simulate his portfolio of illiquid assets, while Hamilton Lane uses the protocol for fixed income products.

“Tokenization allows us to offer investors a new way to access our strategies,” said Natalie Smith, head of strategy and client partnerships at Brevan Howard.

Brevan Howard estimated $35 billion to $40 billion in assets under management (AUM) in July 2023, while Hamilton Lane disclosed $854 billion in assets under management or supervision in September.

Institutional demand and compliance with asset tokenization are expected to be among the main trends driving the growth of decentralized finance in 2024.

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