Tokenization Is ‘Mutual Fund 3.0,’ Bank of America Says

Bank of America (BAC) sees tokenization, the creation of a virtual investment vehicle on the blockchain linked to a tangible asset, as the next phase in the evolution of investment products, describing it as “mutual fund 3.0,” the Wall Street bank said in a Friday report.Just as mutual funds first emerged in 1924 and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reshaped investing in the 2000s, blockchain technology could underpin a new generation of financial vehicles, analysts led by Craig Siegenthaler wrote.Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is advancing quickly. The bank noted that firms like Securitize are working with managers including BlackRock (BLK), Apollo, KKR and Hamilton Lane to issue tokenized funds. Asset manager WisdomTree (WT) built its own tokenization engine, giving it the ability…