UBS Launches Tokenized Fund on Ethereum, Signaling a Major Shift in Wealth Strategy

UBS Asset Management announced on Friday the launch of its first tokenized investment fund, the “UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund Token” or “UMINT,” in Singapore. UBS, a global leader in wealth management, headquartered in Zurich and operating across 50 international markets, described:

This first fund, a money market investment built on Ethereum distributed ledger technology, will be available through authorized distribution partners.

The UMINT fund provides institutional-level cash management for tokenholders through conservative, risk-based investments in high-quality money market instruments, according to UBS.

The fund is part of UBS’s broader tokenization strategy, which has advanced over the past year. In October 2023, UBS joined a pilot for a tokenized Variable Capital Company (VCC) fund under Singapore’s Project Guardian. Additionally, the global investment bank expanded its tokenization with the UBS Tokenize platform, focused initially on bonds, funds, and structured products. Recent digital initiatives include issuing CNH 200 million in digital structured notes in June 2023 and completing the first cross-border repurchase transaction using a natively issued digital bond on a public blockchain in November 2023.

Thomas Kaegi, co-head of UBS Asset Management APAC, explained that the UMINT fund launch addresses rising demand for digital investment assets. Kaegi said:

We have seen growing investor appetite for tokenized financial assets across asset classes.

“Through leveraging our global capabilities and collaborating with peers and regulators, we can now provide clients with an innovative solution,” he added. UBS’s strategic focus on digital assets includes integrating both public and private blockchains into its fund issuance and distribution processes, providing clients with an advanced option for accessing money market funds.