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Independent UK news and guides on tokenised equity, for founders raising capital, investors and the firms that support them. Published by Tokenisation Group Limited, London. Information only, not financial advice.

Federated Hermes plans self-issued tokenised fund shares for early 2027

Writer: Shawn Jhanji
Shawn Jhanji
2 days ago
2 min read

Federated Hermes plans to launch its first tokenised fund share classes in early 2027, issuing them itself and selling them through traditional brokerages and advisers. The Pittsburgh manager, with $911 billion in assets, has not said which funds or which blockchains it will use, and the report is the only source found, with no company release located.


Torn-paper photographic montage of a classical asset-management building linked by an orange cut-out pathway to rows of brokerage desks, with a glowing digital share certificate above
Issuing in-house means the manager owns the register and relies on brokerages for distribution.

The practical reading is that the distinction lies in who issues the token. Earlier Federated Hermes tokenisation work ran through third parties, and this plan moves issuance in-house.


What Federated Hermes plans

According to CoinDesk, the manager will work with Prometheum, whose SEC-registered broker-dealer subsidiaries provide custody, clearing and settlement, and a correspondent clearing platform that lets other brokerages distribute the shares. Kevin Barr, director of digital asset products and platform, said there is enormous interest in tokenised money market funds and that issuing them is a natural extension of how the firm distributes products today.


He also said tokenisation represents a fundamental upgrade to financial market infrastructure for this generation. Money market funds are the likeliest candidates, but that is an inference, not a disclosure.


Third-party issuance versus self-issuance

Previous Federated Hermes projects involved Archax, Goldman Sachs and Conduit Digital, with third parties issuing the tokens. Self-issuance means the manager controls the share register and the product design, and carries the operating risk itself. The trade-off is that it needs a regulated route to investors, which is the role Prometheum is meant to fill.


The group's scale is context, not a forecast. $911 billion of assets says nothing about how much will move into tokenised share classes, and no fund size has been given.


Open questions before 2027

CoinDesk cites a Citi projection of $5.5 trillion of tokenised securities by 2030, which is a forecast, not a measurement. Before early 2027 the unanswered points are which funds, which chains, what minimum investment and which brokerages will accept the shares. Plans of this kind can also change before launch.


What it means for tokenisation founders

Large managers moving in-house show where infrastructure suppliers may lose or win business. Coverage of Spiko's tokenised cash funds, the Lloyds survey of UK finance leaders and Ondo's tokenised notes points the same way, towards established distribution carrying tokenised products. A start-up whose product depends on issuing for managers should ask whether those managers will keep outsourcing.


This is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.


Key takeaways

  • Federated Hermes plans its first tokenised fund share classes in early 2027, issued itself, according to CoinDesk on 13 October 2026.

  • Prometheum's SEC-registered broker-dealer subsidiaries are to provide custody, clearing and settlement.

  • Earlier work used third parties including Archax, Goldman Sachs and Conduit Digital, so the change is who issues.

  • The funds, blockchains and brokerages are not named, and only CoinDesk has reported the plan.


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