Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of British insurance company Aviva (AV), said in a press release on Wednesday that it plans to reach an agreement with blockchain company Ripple to tokenize traditional fund structures on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
Through this partnership, Ripple will 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 the company looks to integrate blockchain-based products into its product lineup.
For Ripple, the agreement is a first with a European investment management firm, expanding its efforts to bring regulated financial assets on-chain.
Asset managers are increasingly turning to tokenization to modernize fund infrastructure, using digital tokens to represent shares of money market funds, private credit, real estate and other strategies on the blockchain.
The approach promises faster settlement, lower operating costs and wider distribution, while enabling features such as fractional ownership and automated compliance.
Major firms such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Hamilton Lane have launched tokenized products, marking a shift from pilot projects to real-time, regulated products aimed at institutional investors.
Aviva Investors and Ripple said they will work together to develop tokenized fund structures on XRPL in 2026 and beyond.
According to Ripple, the ledger was launched in 2012 and has processed more than 4 billion transactions and supports more than 7 million wallets. It is maintained by 120 independent validators and does not rely on energy-intensive mining.
“We believe tokenization can bring many benefits to investors, including improvements in time and cost efficiencies,” Jill Barber, chief distribution officer at Aviva Investors, said in a press release.
She added: “We are committed to adopting technological advances that we believe can bring positive change to our business, and we believe tokenized funds can bring significant benefits to our clients.”
Read more: Tokenization is still at the beginning of the hype cycle, experts say, but more use cases are needed
