ADDX uses blockchain and smart contract technology to “democratise” access to asset classes such as private equity and venture capital.

Securities brokerage CGS-CIMB Singapore has switched on its connection to Singapore-based  private market exchange ADDX, giving all individual accredited investors on its platform access to ADDX’s offerings.

Through the partnership, CGS-CIMB can boost its shelf of private market products, and distribute deals on ADDX to its high net worth clients deals, including private equity, private credit, venture capital, hedge funds, real estate, fixed income products such as bonds and commercial papers, as well as structured products. 

Before the move, CGS-CIMB was more focused on the public markets.

The partnership is part of a new service called ADDX Advantage which was rolled out earlier this year to serve wealth managers, including private banks, brokerages and external asset managers. By end-2023, ADDX aims to take on board as many as 10 wealth managers.

ADDX uses blockchain and smart contract technology to “democratise” access to asset classes such as private equity and venture capital. Such technology allows ADDX to cut minimum investment sizes from $1 million to $10,000, widening investor access to assets which were once the preserve of the ultra-wealthy or large organisations. To that extent, ADDX is part of a wider trend of firms using technology to make it easier for investors to enter the space.

“Through our partnership with ADDX, CGS-CIMB’s high net worth investors now have access to private markets and opportunities that were historically accessible only to institutional players,” CGS-CIMB managing director and group head, strategic innovation, Elgin Ting said.

ADDX CEO Oi-Yee Choo added: “Returns from a classic 60/40 portfolio mix of public stocks and bonds are at an all-time low. Against this backdrop, we have observed growth in investor awareness and appetite for private market products over the past two years. Globally, private market assets under management are forecast to nearly double, from $9.3 trillion in 2021 to $18.3 trillion in 2027. Individual investor allocation to these alternative assets is likely to rise faster than allocation by institutional investors because technology is democratising access for individuals.

Among recent developments, in November ADDX, which is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said that South Korean banking group KBFG had taken a stake in it.

ADDX has raised a total of $140 million in funding since its inception in 2017. It raised $50 million in its Series A round in January 2021 and $78 million in its Pre-Series B round, which kicked off in May 2022 and was extended in November 2022. Investors include Singapore Exchange (SGX), the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Temasek subsidiary Heliconia Capital, the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), UOB, Hamilton Lane, Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings and KB Securities, which is a subsidiary of Korea’s largest banking group KB Financial Group.