Federated Hermes, an active asset manager, yesterday announced a strategic alliance with Singapore-based Conduit Digital Holdings Pte Ltd, part of the Conduit Group, to support the launch of a regulated tokenized distribution structure in Apac.

Under this arrangement, the Conduit-managed investment fund will invest in the Federated Hermes Short-Term US Prime fund. Shares of the Conduit fund, which provide exposure to the underlying Federated Hermes fund, will then be tokenized and offered to institutional and wholesale investors, in APAC.

The Federated Hermes Short-Term US Prime fund is an actively managed, UCITS-authorised money market fund that aims to provide current income while maintaining daily liquidity and a stable principal value. It invests primarily in high-quality, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term debt instruments like commercial paper and certificates of deposit.

Federated Hermes’ s alliance with Conduit builds on a series of recent money market initiatives including: an alliance with UK-based Archax, an FCA-regulated digital securities exchange, to provide tokenized access to three UCITS money market funds; participation in an industry-wide, regulated initiative using mirrored tokenization to enhance transferability, collateral utility and real-time tracking of fund shares; and the launch of Federated Hermes’ first GENIUS Act-aligned money market fund in the US, designed to support stablecoin reserve use cases, with potential for future tokenization/tokenized share classes.

Federated Hermes’ approach to regulated digital assets, tokenization and next-generation investment infrastructure is led by Kevin Barr, who was appointed as director, digital assets Product and Platform Strategy in May 2026.

This announcement represents Federated Hermes’ first digital assets initiative in Apac. Earlier this year, Federated Hermes announced plans to expand its footprint in the region, which includes existing offices in Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney – with the opening of a Hong Kong office as part of a long-term growth strategy to deepen relationships with private banks, family offices, wealth intermediaries and institutional investors across the region.

Barr said: “We are excited to support innovative cash management solutions that better serve client needs, building on our legacy of innovation in the money market fund space. Vaults represent a compelling evolution in investment management, and we see a significant opportunity to bring our legacy of trust and fiduciary responsibility to this emerging space.”

Jim Roland, head of business development, Asia Pacific and Australia at Federated Hermes added: “Tokenized products represent a new and evolving way to engage with our clients, combining our investment expertise with Conduit’s MAS-regulated end-to-end tokenization capabilities and regional distribution network.” 

Richard Schroder, co-Founder and CEO of Conduit Digital Holdings commented: “We are committed to unlocking the full utility of these tokens – moving beyond simple settlement to enable use as collateral, multicurrency management, and integration into AI agentic treasury management systems. This is where the real efficiency gains for our customers lie, and we are building the infrastructure to make that a reality.”

Chris O’Meara, CEO of Conduit Asset Management and Chairman of the Conduit Group, added: “Conduit Digital Holdings sits at the heart of our vision for the future of asset management in Asia-Pacific – bringing institutional-grade products onchain through regulated, MAS-licensed infrastructure.”