Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of UK insurer Aviva plc, has entered into a strategic partnership with Ripple to tokenise traditional fund structures on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
The collaboration represents a significant milestone in the institutional adoption of decentralised finance (DeFi) in the UK. It marks the first time Aviva Investors has sought to incorporate tokenised solutions into its product offering and is Ripple’s first partnership with an investment management business based in Europe.
Bringing funds on-chain
The initiative will see the two firms working closely throughout 2026 and beyond to issue and manage tokenised funds. By leveraging the XRP Ledger, a decentralised public blockchain, Aviva aims to benefit from faster, more secure, and low-cost transactions.
The move is part of a broader industry trend towards bringing “Real World Assets” (RWA) onto the blockchain to unlock operational efficiencies.
Jill Barber, chief distribution officer at Aviva Investors, commented on the potential benefits for clients:
“We’re really delighted to announce our collaboration with Ripple… We believe there are many benefits that tokenisation can bring to investors, including improvements in terms of both time and cost efficiency. As the investment arm of the UK’s leading insurer, we have a long track record with regards to innovation. We are committed to adopting technological advancements that we believe can bring about positive change for our business.”
Institutional infrastructure
For Ripple, the partnership is a validation of its enterprise-focused blockchain strategy. The tech firm highlights the XRPL’s suitability for regulated markets, citing its compliance capabilities and energy efficiency—transactions on the ledger do not require mining.
Since its inception in 2012, the XRPL has processed over 4 billion transactions and supports over 7 million active wallets.
Nigel Khakoo, vice president, Trading and Markets at Ripple, added: “Tokenization is now moving from experimentation to large-scale production. Institutions like Aviva Investors are now focused on how to deploy regulated financial assets at scale. The development of tokenised fund structures is one that we believe can bring huge technological efficiencies to the investment sector, and we expect this to take full effect over the next decade.”
The partnership is expected to explore how the “near-instant settlement” and “native liquidity” of the ledger can support the next generation of institutional assets.
