The French asset manager has carried out what it claims is an industry first.

Natixis Asset Management has carried out what it claims is the first fund distribution transaction using blockchain, after investors bought shares in funds via a platform underpinned by the nascent technology. 

Using the fund distribution platform FundsDLT, investors were able to purchase shares in Natixis Asset Management's funds, the group said in a statement yesterday. 

The announcement comes after the asset manager voiced its intention to be the first firm in the industry to leverage blockchain technology across several of its business lines. 

A blockchain is a virtual distributed ledger of transactions shared peer-to-peer that can record ownership across a public network of computers rendered tamper-proof by advanced cryptography. 

The technology is causing a stir within the financial services sector as its supporters believe it could reduce hidden expenses in the financial system by ousting inefficiencies across areas such as payments, syndicated loans and equity clearing.

Although blockchain rose to fame as the platform underpinning the controversial digital currency bitcoin, its uses are incredibly wide reaching. 

FundsDLT is the offspring of Fundsquare, a subsidiary of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange; InTech, a unit of POST Group; and Big Four firm KPMG. The platform aims to enable asset managers to sell funds through a new distribution channel, while significantly reducing administration costs and the time taken to process transactions for both asset managers and other asset servicers. 

Earlier this year, asset management house Northern Trust and tech giant IBM developed a blockchain-based solution that facilitated the administration of a private equity fund managed by Geneva-based Unigestion.