A recent webinar SS&C hosted jointly with NICSA explored an ambitious set of considerations about tokenization, including its current application across asset classes, how products are being structured and distributed, and what firms should be doing now to advance its progress.
Almost 300 delegates across asset management, wealth management and technology joined our online discussion on new tokenized product launches, distribution and servicing models, what’s been successful and where challenges remain.
The session featured three industry experts driving meaningful change in the tokenization ecosystem for their firms and clients. The webinar by discussing how tokenization is removing friction in the current fund ecosystem. Simon Keefe, Head of Digital Assets at Calastone, an SS&C company, emphasized how radically tokenization will transform the asset and wealth management industries. He sees tokenized distribution as the first practical step many asset managers are taking on their tokenization journeys.
Joining SS&C’s in-house experts were Valeria Zafar, Global Head of Institutional Market Development at Kinexys, J.P. Morgan’s blockchain platform, and Charlie Helmstetter, Global Liquidity Chief Operating Officer at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
Early Entrants
Keefe noted that tokenized money market funds have been the first to gain meaningful traction as collateral instruments.
Helmstetter stated the importance of being able to trade tokenized money market funds 24/7 and enable continuous, intraday dividends for such instruments.
“It’s about the fungibility among stablecoin and tokenized money market funds and tokenized deposits—and no longer having to sell units and turn them into cash in order to buy something else.”
-Charlie Helmstetter, Global Liquidity COO, Morgan Stanley Investment Management
The panelists highlighted the demonstrable traction in the tokenization ecosystem and focused on three key benefits to asset managers, wealth managers and end investors:
“We need to ensure interoperability between the traditional and the decentralized finance ecosystems. Agreeing a unified standard across tokenization is unlikely—but with multiple standards, we must be able to work together.”
-Simon Keefe, Head of Digital Assets, Calastone, an SS&C Company
Market participants can’t seize the immediate benefits of tokenization overnight. Asset managers are rising to the near-term challenge of facilitating both tokenized and traditional funds in tandem. But they will also need a clear, efficient pathway to accommodate future innovation.
While tokenization and digital assets technologies are evolving rapidly and across borders, the associated regulatory regimes vary widely, and global regulatory convergence is unlikely in the near-term. Where multiple standards will inevitably arise among market participants, Keefe highlighted the ability to operate together is paramount to tokenization’s success.
As digital innovation reshapes the financial industry, SS&C is leading the transformation of fund distribution and investor servicing. Our chain-agnostic tokenization solutions simplify the process for asset managers and distributors to bring traditional investment structures into the digital age—while delivering minimal disruption and maximum opportunity. We provide mission-critical, AI-powered software and services that help financial services and healthcare organizations operate smarter, faster, and more securely.
Watch the on-demand webinar to learn more about tokenization.