Bermudian-based Apex Group Ltd, the rapidly expanding global financial services provider, has expanded its digital assets capabilities with the acquisition of a majority stake in Fund Admin Chain, a distributed ledger-based network for launching, distributing, trading and settling collective investment funds.

Apex said FAC, headquartered in London, was designed to connect fund investors, fund managers and their service providers in a digital distributed ecosystem.

In addition to simplifying and streamlining the investment funds’ value-chain, Apex said, FAC delivered additional revenue opportunities for funds industry participants.

FAC is a pioneer in the application of new technologies to the funds industry and Apex’s position as majority shareholder will accelerate the adoption of these technologies and set a global standard for the tokenisation of funds, the company said.

Apex added that this proprietary technology would facilitate greater productivity and efficiency for the group’s clients, in particular enabling the faster and cheaper launching and distribution of funds, the ability to trade tokenised funds secondary decentralised finance markets, as well as delivering improved experiences for both fund managers and investors.

FAC has also extended their roadmap to deliver and operate a regulated exchange for digital funds.

Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group, said: “Recent developments in distributed ledger technology and digital asset tokenisation are driving significant transformation within the asset management industry.

“This investment further demonstrates our focus on delivering an ever-evolving single-source solution, underpinned by innovative, flexible and best-in-class technology.”

Brian McNulty, the CEO of FAC, added: “As a global financial services provider, Apex is uniquely positioned to leverage new technologies to offer clients more flexible and efficient fund services. We see their investment in FAC as an exciting opportunity to collectively shape the future of the funds industry.”