Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of UK insurer Aviva (AV), plans to tokenize traditional fund structures on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) in a deal with blockchain firm Ripple, the companies said in a press release on Wednesday.
The collaboration will see Ripple support Aviva Investors in issuing and managing tokenized funds on XRPL, a public blockchain designed for payments and financial transactions. The move marks Aviva Investors’ first foray into tokenization as it looks to integrate blockchain-based products into its lineup.
For Ripple, the deal is a first partnership with a Europe-based investment manager, expanding their efforts to bring regulated financial assets onchain.
Asset managers have increasingly turned to tokenization to modernize fund infrastructure, using digital tokens to represent shares of money market funds, private credit, real estate and other strategies on a blockchain.
The approach promises faster settlement, lower operational costs and wider distribution, while enabling features such as shared ownership and automated compliance.
Major firms including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Hamilton Lane have already introduced tokenized products, signaling a shift from pilot projects to live, regulated offerings aimed at institutional investors.
Aviva Investors and Ripple said they will work together through 2026 and beyond to develop tokenized fund structures on XRPL.
The ledger, which started up in 2012, has processed more than 4 billion transactions and supports over 7 million wallets, according to Ripple. It is maintained by 120 independent validators and does not rely on energy-intensive mining.
“We believe there are many benefits that tokenization can bring to investors, including improvements in both time and cost efficiency,” Jill Barber, chief distribution officer at Aviva Investors, said in the release.
“We are committed to adopting technological advances that we believe can create positive change for our business, and we believe that tokenized funds can be hugely beneficial to our customers,” she added.
Read more: Tokenization still at the start of the hype cycle, but requires more use cases, specialists say
