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Transparency demands to drive ‘dramatic’ increase in use of blockchain

Blockchain chainAsset managers will come under increased pressure from investors to use blockchain technology to provide more security and transparency for their funds, according to research.

A survey of institutional investors and wealth managers conducted by an exchange-traded fund found that 90% expect blockchain to feature more prominently over the next five years and exactly half expect a ‘dramatic’ increase over the next three years.

The prominence will be primarily driven by the trend to provide more transparency and information on investments, cited by 51% and 35% of respondents respectively. A smaller number (12%) said increased use would be driven by regulation.

The survey was conducted by Global Palladium Fund (GPF), an exchange-traded commodities fund listed in the UK and Germany which uses blockchain as an additional source of fund information alongside traditional custodian’s recordkeeping.

According to GPF chief executive Alexander Stoyanov, the use of the technology to create an immutable record of a fund’s holdings is the “first step in the use of blockchain to introduce greater transparency for investors”.

The survey was conducted in January 2021 and included 100 institutional investors and wealth managers across the UK and Germany.

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