Key Takeaways
- • Nearly 62% of asset managers without tokenised fund offerings expect to launch such products within one to five years, signalling substantial institutional momentum toward blockchain-based asset management.
- • PwC projects tokenized fund assets under management will grow at a 41% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach $715 billion globally by 2030, representing a material shift in how financial assets are issued and traded.
- • Institutional investors demonstrate robust demand for digital assets, with over 42% of asset owners reporting high or very high interest from peers, validating the commercial case for tokenisation infrastructure.
- • A Funds Europe Digital Assets Survey of 107 financial industry respondents reveals 52.7% preference for private blockchains over public networks, reflecting institutional prioritization of security, governance, and control in distributed ledger deployments.
- • Tokenisation enables cross-border settlement flexibility and speed improvements while creating foundation for asset managers to remain competitive with institutional investor expectations for digital-native investment solutions.
Summary
The asset management industry is experiencing accelerating adoption of tokenisation as a transformative infrastructure for issuing, recording, and transacting financial assets. The latest Funds Europe Digital Assets Survey, conducted in partnership with CACEIS, a major custody bank, surveyed 107 financial industry respondents and revealed substantial institutional commitment to blockchain-based fund structures. The most striking finding: nearly 62% of asset managers who have not yet launched tokenised funds expect to do so within the next one to five years, demonstrating that tokenisation has moved beyond theoretical exploration into concrete business planning.
Demand from asset owners validates this trajectory. Over 42% of asset owners report high or very high interest in crypto assets and digital investments from their institutional peers, indicating that end-client appetite is driving supply-side decisions at fund managers. This institutional appetite reflects recognition that tokenisation addresses material operational challenges—particularly cross-border settlement speed and flexibility—while positioning asset managers as relevant to evolving investor expectations for digital-native solutions.
The scale of projected growth underscores the magnitude of this transition. PwC forecasts that tokenized fund assets under management will expand at a 41% compound annual growth rate, reaching $715 billion globally by 2030. This projection places tokenisation squarely in the category of structural market shifts rather than niche experimentation.
Infrastructure preferences reveal a nuanced approach to blockchain deployment. When respondents chose between private and public blockchain networks, 52.7% expressed preference for private blockchains, citing superior security, governance capabilities, and control mechanisms. This consensus reflects institutional risk management priorities—firms are adopting blockchain technology for efficiency gains while maintaining the institutional safeguards and governance structures required by regulated financial services.
The convergence of supply-side readiness, demand-side interest, and infrastructure prioritization indicates tokenisation will become foundational to asset management operations. The transition from paper-based to digitized assets reflects broader digitalisation reshaping financial services, with blockchain technology enabling speed, transparency, and settlement flexibility that legacy systems cannot deliver at comparable cost.
Demand from asset owners validates this trajectory. Over 42% of asset owners report high or very high interest in crypto assets and digital investments from their institutional peers, indicating that end-client appetite is driving supply-side decisions at fund managers. This institutional appetite reflects recognition that tokenisation addresses material operational challenges—particularly cross-border settlement speed and flexibility—while positioning asset managers as relevant to evolving investor expectations for digital-native solutions.
The scale of projected growth underscores the magnitude of this transition. PwC forecasts that tokenized fund assets under management will expand at a 41% compound annual growth rate, reaching $715 billion globally by 2030. This projection places tokenisation squarely in the category of structural market shifts rather than niche experimentation.
Infrastructure preferences reveal a nuanced approach to blockchain deployment. When respondents chose between private and public blockchain networks, 52.7% expressed preference for private blockchains, citing superior security, governance capabilities, and control mechanisms. This consensus reflects institutional risk management priorities—firms are adopting blockchain technology for efficiency gains while maintaining the institutional safeguards and governance structures required by regulated financial services.
The convergence of supply-side readiness, demand-side interest, and infrastructure prioritization indicates tokenisation will become foundational to asset management operations. The transition from paper-based to digitized assets reflects broader digitalisation reshaping financial services, with blockchain technology enabling speed, transparency, and settlement flexibility that legacy systems cannot deliver at comparable cost.
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