Singapore investors launch $100m fintech fund
Singapore-based investors Quantum Energy Asset Management and RE Lee International Capital have launched a fund targeting $100 million for early to growth-stage financial technology start-ups.
QEX Fund is being positioned as a “hybrid” vehicle that will be 70% invested into venture capital assets and 30% into traditional liquid assets including equities, bonds, and derivatives. The portfolio will be managed with a hands-on approach.
The QEX team will be led by Vic Tham, CEO of Quantum and CIO of Pundi X, a Singaporean company developing blockchain-enabled point-of-sale machines. Tham has also served as an Asia-focused COO at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Tham will be joined by Fen Chao Yong, Quantum’s COO and previously head of the fixed income market making and credit derivatives business at United Overseas Bank.
The idea is to combine the traditional finance experience of Quantum and RE Lee with Pundi X’s expertise in emerging fintech segments. "It is rare to bring together a team that has decades of experience in fund management, securities, banking and also emerging fintech and blockchain technology all under one roof,” Tham said in a statement.
RE Lee launched its alternatives program last year with a view to providing Asian family offices and high net worth individuals with exposure to technologies such as blockchain, smart buildings, and electric vehicles (EV). Thai telecom conglomerate Benchachinda has partnered with the firm to identify start-ups in several areas.
RE Lee said it would launch a series of alternatives products, including separate blockchain-related fintech and EV-focused programs, as well as a managed futures fund that will rely on a proprietary machine learning system to make investment allocation decisions. Up to $60 million will be committed in total to the overall program.
Quantum is a fintech-focused research and consulting firm that says close collaboration with Pundi X offers access to potential investments in regional start-ups. Last year, Pundi X raised almost $50 million in an ICO and launched a point-of-sale device in Hong Kong that enables retail stores and restaurants to conduct multi-cryptocurrency transactions.
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