Aviva Investors has launched a tokenized share class of its £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger, investing £50 million in the new offering as its partnership with Ripple expands into a second money market fund.
Summary
- Aviva Investors has launched a tokenized share class of its £22 billion sterling fund on XRPL.
- The company invested £50 million, taking combined tokenized share class investments above £86 million.
- Eligible investors retain the conventional fund’s investment objectives, liquidity characteristics and regulatory protections.
- Ripple, Komainu, Licuido and BNY Mellon support the fund’s blockchain and custody infrastructure.
According to an October 26 announcement, Aviva Investors now has more than £86 million ($116 million) invested across its two tokenized share classes, including the sterling product and the U.S. dollar liquidity fund introduced in July.
The £22 billion figure represents the total assets managed by the existing Sterling Liquidity Fund, not the amount transferred onto the blockchain. Aviva said the tokenized shares would provide another way for eligible investors to access the conventional fund.
Ripple expands XRP Ledger fund offerings with Aviva
The Sterling Liquidity Fund is Aviva Investors’ largest fund, investing in high-grade, short-term debt instruments denominated in British pounds.
Established in 2002, the Ireland-domiciled UCITS money market fund targets low-risk returns and provides daily liquidity for investors managing cash holdings.
The new share class uses a digital-twin structure, allowing fund ownership to be represented on XRPL while the underlying portfolio and existing fund arrangements remain in place.
Aviva said the new arrangement preserves the investment objective, risk profile, liquidity characteristics and regulatory protections available to conventional shareholders.
Mark Versey, CEO of Aviva Investors, said the launch demonstrated the company’s commitment to expanding its tokenized investment products.
“We believe tokenised funds can increase efficiency and ultimately lead to improved client outcomes,” Versey said.
He credited Ripple’s involvement in the two launches and indicated that the companies intend to continue exploring tokenization.
The sterling product follows Aviva’s first tokenized fund launch on July 29, when it introduced a digital share class for its U.S. Dollar Liquidity Fund.
That earlier offering received approval from the Central Bank of Ireland, with access limited to eligible investors using digital wallets.
Aviva commits £50 million to tokenized sterling fund
The latest announcement identifies a £50 million ($66 million) investment by Aviva in the sterling share class.
Combined investments across the firm’s sterling and dollar tokenized offerings now exceed £86 million, making Aviva one of Europe’s largest tokenized money market fund providers, according to the companies.
The reported combined total remains separate from the £22 billion held by the conventional sterling fund.
Komainu, an institutional digital asset custodian, supports the new share class alongside Licuido, which provides infrastructure for issuing and managing tokenized financial assets.
BNY Mellon continues to serve as custodian of the fund’s underlying assets. Eligible investors access the tokenized shares using digital wallets, while the conventional fund maintains its regulated investment structure.
Previously, Ripple has invested in tokenization providers ZILO and Licuido, expanding the infrastructure available for digital fund distribution and asset management.
Licuido’s involvement in Aviva’s latest product continues its existing work with the asset manager following the July dollar-fund launch.
XRP Ledger supports institutional fund settlement
Ripple said XRPL provides the infrastructure for issuing and managing Aviva’s tokenized fund shares through low-cost blockchain transactions.
The network has processed more than 4 billion transactions since 2012, supports nearly 8 million active wallets and is maintained by more than 130 independent validators, according to the announcement.
Nigel Khakoo, Ripple’s senior vice president of trading and markets, said financial institutions are increasingly adopting infrastructure designed for continuous access and faster settlement.
“Markets are moving to 24/7 access and settlement is moving to real-time, always-on rails,” he said.
The tokenization arrangement does not change the fund’s underlying investment holdings into XRP. Investors retain interests in a regulated money market fund, while blockchain records support the digital share class.
The companies did not disclose how many outside investors had subscribed to the sterling class or whether the new investment structure would introduce additional settlement services.
Tokenized money market funds attract major asset managers
Aviva’s latest offering joins a growing selection of institutional funds using blockchain infrastructure for digital ownership records and distribution.
On October 22, JPMorgan Asset Management expanded two money market funds, MONY and JLTXX, onto Solana for qualified U.S. investors.
Its MONY fund targets U.S. Treasury securities and Treasury-backed repurchase agreements, while JLTXX requires approved wallet addresses for transactions involving tokenized shares.
Franklin Templeton has expanded its Benji tokenized fund platform across several blockchains, including Stellar, Ethereum and Solana. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund has likewise introduced tokenized share classes on multiple networks.
Aviva’s sterling launch arrives immediately before Ripple’s Swell conference in New York, scheduled for October 27–29, where tokenization and institutional blockchain adoption are expected to feature among the discussions.
