Just as Uber revolutionized the transportation industry by challenging the traditional taxi model, tokenization promises to transform the financial sector, offering new opportunities for market agents who, until now, were prisoners of traditional systems and operated under restrictions imposed by centralized institutions such as banks and brokerages. These agents include investment funds, asset managers, investment advisory firms, securitization companies, and a small portion of fintechs.
Especially in Brazil, funds usually turn to large banks and brokerages for the distribution and management of their financial products. In addition to bureaucracy and slow processes, which delay strategic decisions and harm performance, this limits your capacity for innovation and imposes high costs that are passed on to investors.
Asset managers also face challenges as they have to deal with asset custody, fund administration and regulatory compliance, often through intermediaries that impose fees and restrictions, limiting their flexibility and agility to explore other diversification opportunities.
Furthermore, the increase in regulatory requirements by agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US and the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) in Brazil imposes the need for constant updating and compliance, which can be costly and time-consuming. Furthermore, the need to invest in new technologies, such as artificial intelligence andbig data, is crucial to maintain competitiveness, requiring not only high implementation costs, but also training and retention of qualified talent.
The competition in the sector has also intensified with the increase in the number of managers and the ease of access to information and investment tools, making differentiation in the market a constant challenge. Meanwhile, investors are becoming increasingly informed and demanding, seeking sustainable and responsible investments in addition to financial returns, which forces asset managers to adapt their strategies and product offerings.
Another significant challenge is represented by the historically low interest rates in many markets, which makes it difficult to achieve attractive returns on traditional fixed-income investments. To overcome these obstacles and seize opportunities, investment managers must adopt a proactive approach, investing in technology, staying updated with regulations, and adapting their strategies to the new demands of investors.
In turn, investment advisory offices are slow and have a complex relationship with banks and brokerages. While offering personalized advice to clients, they are often pressured to promote specific products from those with whom they have business agreements. This can create conflicts of interest and limit the actions of advisors.
Securitization companies, which transform illiquid assets into tradable securities, lack financial institutions to distribute their solutions and often face barriers to accessing broader markets.
Even fintechs, which emerged with the promise of disruption, ended up integrating into conventional systems to achieve scale. This led to the loss of part of its original proposal, making them dependent on the same intermediaries they promised to replace. The FIDC crisis is an example of how this integration can fail, resulting in outcomes below expectations.
Transformation with tokenization
Many entrepreneurs still seek the easiest path, choosing to integrate into the traditional molds of the financial market. However, tokenization offers a new approach, allowing these agents to Uberize the sector and gain autonomy.
Thus, investment funds can tokenize their structure in different ways, eliminating steps and reducing costs. Asset managers can expand their portfolios with tokenized assets, from real estate to startups, accessing newpoolsof distribution.
Tokenization also enables advisory firms to act as structurers, those who sit at the table with the credit borrower and negotiate like a broker. For securitization companies, it will simplify the process of transforming illiquid assets into tradable securities, serving as the offer panel itself, providing greater clarity and accessibility. This attracts a more diverse group of investors and reduces issuance and administration costs.
Therefore, just as Uber democratized access to transportation, allowing anyone with a car to become a driver, tokenization paves the way to give autonomy to those who were previously at the mercy of banks and brokers and creates a new financial education for investors, making everything much more coherent and transparent. This transformation eliminates many intermediaries from the structuring of an asset, in addition to reducing costs and bureaucracy, and increasing efficiency and transparency in the financial market.
This paradigm shift expands reach to a global investor base and fosters the creation of financial products and services, driving innovation and competitiveness, in addition to benefiting companies in the financial sector, which can use solutions that are more suited to their needs.
