What would it take to rebuild the investment fund for a blockchain-based market infrastructure? In this episode, Claudio Tognella speaks with Aaron Renkers, Head of Investments Europe at VanEck, about how tokenization could reshape investment products and the asset management industry.

Aaron outlines VanEck’s journey from gold funds and ETFs to digital assets and a tokenized money market fund, and explains why the firm now sees tokenizing its existing strategies as a natural next step.

The discussion highlights the practical advantages of moving funds on chain, including atomic settlement, more efficient collateral management, new asset classes and new distribution channels. It also covers more ambitious ideas such as direct voting rights for individual ETF investors and highly personalized portfolios. Aaron assesses the current market with candour, noting that many tokenized securities still lack proper ownership rights. He identifies regulatory clarity, stablecoin use in regulated settings, a functioning secondary market, interoperability, privacy and cyber risk as the key challenges. The episode closes with a perspective on whether the fund wrapper will endure as smart contracts and AI agents take on a larger role.

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