- Aviva Investors has launched a tokenised share class for the Aviva Investors US Dollar (USD) Liquidity Fund, allowing investment in the fund in tokenised format, on the XRP Ledger
- This marks the first tokenisation of an Aviva Investors fund, and follows the announcement of the partnership between the firm and Ripple early in the year
- The launch was supported by Komainu who provided regulated institutional digital asset custody, with tokenisation infrastructure provided by Licuido
The tokenised USD Liquidity Fund will be available on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) – a public blockchain built for fast, secure, and low-cost settlement. Investors will benefit from the same investment objective, risk profile, liquidity characteristics and regulatory protections as the conventional fund, alongside enhanced operational features enabled by tokenisation.
The tokenised share class launch was also supported by Komainu, a regulated institutional digital asset custodian, alongside Licuido, a digital platform company that helps asset management companies to tokenise real world assets. As part of this launch, the new tokenised share class has also been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), marking a regulatory first with regards to tokenised fund structures.
The Fund, which was initially launched in its ‘traditional’ structure in 2020, targets low-risk returns and daily liquidity by offering investors exposure to high-grade US dollar-denominated short-term debt instruments. The new share class will be available to eligible investors with digital wallets, with all assets held by the fund’s custodian, The Bank of New York Mellon. The structure has been designed to operate within existing regulatory frameworks, providing a scalable foundation for future innovation in fund distribution and market infrastructure.
The XRPL, will enable Aviva Investors to reliably issue and manage the tokenised share class of the USD Liquidity Fund using fast, secure, low-cost blockchain transactions, in an energy efficient format. It offers a set of features, including compliance capabilities, designed to support financial institutions operating in regulated markets. Since 2012, the network has processed more than 4 billion transactions, supports nearly 8 million active wallets, and is maintained by 130+ independent validators.
Mark Versey, CEO at Aviva Investors, said:
“We’re thrilled to be able to announce the launch of our first fund in the tokenisation space, with the addition of the new tokenised share class for our USD Liquidity Fund. Innovation has always been central to Aviva Investors’ heritage, and we believe that tokenisation is a significant development within the investment industry. It is our view that this trend will increase efficiency and ultimately lead to improved client outcomes, and as such it is something we have been keen to develop for a number of months. Our partnership with Ripple has been crucial to this endeavour and we look forward to continuing working together, as we look to further explore the possibilities of tokenised fund structures.”
Nigel Khakoo, Senior Vice President, Trading and Markets, Ripple:
“This is a landmark moment for fund tokenisation. Aviva Investors has demonstrated that it is possible to bring a regulated, institutional-grade tokenised product to market on live infrastructure, with real investor protections in place. The XRP Ledger was built for exactly this kind of application, and we expect this launch to set a strong precedent for other asset managers looking to explore tokenised fund structures.”
