Aviva tokenizes £22 billion sterling fund on XRP Ledger

Aviva Investors and Ripple launched a tokenized share class of Aviva’s £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger on Oct. 26, with Aviva investing £50 million in the new class, according to Aviva Investors’ announcement. The Irish-domiciled UCITS money market fund is the asset manager’s second tokenized fund offering.

How does the tokenized share class work?

Aviva’s “digital twin” model represents investor holdings on the XRP Ledger while the underlying fund continues to operate off-chain. The fund’s assets are held by its custodian, Bank of New York Mellon, and eligible investors can access the share class with digital wallets, Aviva said.

The tokenized shares have the same investment objective, risk profile, liquidity characteristics and regulatory protections as the conventional fund, according to Aviva. The fund, launched in 2002, invests in high-grade, sterling-denominated short-term debt and offers daily liquidity.

How much has Aviva put into tokenized funds?

Aviva invested £50 million ($66 million) in the sterling share class, bringing its total investment across two tokenized money market fund offerings to more than £86 million ($116 million), the company said. The first was a tokenized share class of its US Dollar Liquidity Fund, launched in July.

The Block’s report said Komainu and digital infrastructure platform Licuido supported the launch. Aviva described the sterling fund as its largest, with approximately £22 billion in assets under management.

What comes next for the partnership?

Aviva Investors CEO Mark Versey said the firm would continue working with Ripple to explore tokenization. The announcement set no date for another launch; the sterling share class follows the firms’ February partnership to bring traditional fund structures onto the XRP Ledger.

References

• Aviva Investors’ announcement — avivainvestors.com
• The Block’s report — theblock.co