iSTOX lists Unicorn Fund in digitised securities form

By Edil Corneille

Global digitised securities platform iSTOX announced that it had listed the first unicorn fund in the world to launch in digitised securities form. The ICHAM Unicorn Opportunity Fund concluded its initial offering period recently after raising close to US$20 million that it aims to invest in billion-dollar companies globally.

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. The creation of security tokens allows manual processes to be automated and minimum investment ticket sizes to be reduced to US$20,000. This expands participation in unicorn investing to all accredited 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, demonstrated sustainable growth, proven disruptive impact in their chosen fields, and 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.

Choo Oi Yee, Chief Commercial Officer of iSTOX said, “…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. A lower investment threshold through the tokenisation of securities makes unicorn investing fairer and more democratic, which is important when we consider that unicorns experience their fastest growth in the pre-IPO phase. In the long run, unicorns benefit too because their stocks are worth the most when they can be purchased by the biggest possible group of investors. The enlarged pool of potential funds also enables unicorns to stay private for longer and to focus on the growth of their business rather than the short-term profits that public markets will require.”

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… 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’s portfolio is in turn curated by our fund management team with a proven track record, longstanding experience, good networks and strong commitment. Given the ultra-low interest rate environment and the fact that stock prices of public tech companies have rallied to record highs, we believe investors can find risk-adjusted investment returns from unicorns that are difficult to find anywhere else.”

The fund has an initial charter period of 4 years. Thereafter, the ICHAM board of directors can extend the fund for up to 2 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.