Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of Aviva plc, has partnered with Ripple, a crypto-focused fintech, to explore tokenising traditional fund structures on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralised open-source public blockchain for financial transactions.
Ripple will support the initiative as part of its broader strategy to bring real world financial assets onto the XRPL. The collaboration marks Ripple’s first partnership with a Europe-based investment manager and Aviva Investors’ first step towards incorporating tokenised solutions into its product offering.
The firms said they will work together through 2026 and beyond, with the aim of issuing and managing tokenised funds on the decentralised, open-source blockchain.
The XRPL allows Aviva Investors to issue and manage tokenised funds through blockchain transactions that do not require mining, supporting lower energy use, shared the asset manager. It also includes compliance-related features suited to regulated financial institutions.
Tokenisation accelerates along the road to 2030
Jill Barber, chief distribution officer at Aviva Investors, said: “We’re really delighted to announce our collaboration with Ripple, and we look forward to working closely with the team to explore tokenising solutions. We believe there are many benefits that tokenisation can bring to investors, including improvements in terms of both time and cost efficiency. As the investment arm of the UK’s leading insurer, we have a long track record with regards to innovation. We are committed to adopting technological advancements that we believe can bring about positive change for our business, and we think tokenised funds can be hugely beneficial to our clients.”
Nigel Khakoo, vice president, trading and markets, Ripple, said:“Tokenisation is now moving from experimentation to large-scale production. Institutions like Aviva Investors are now focused on how to deploy regulated financial assets at scale. The development of tokenised fund structures is one that we believe can bring huge technological efficiencies to the investment sector, and we expect this to take full effect over the next decade. With its built-in compliance tools, near-instant settlement, and native liquidity, the XRPL provides the secure and scalable infrastructure required to support the next generation of institutional assets.”
