84% of financial firms prioritize tokenization as regulatory uncertainty remains top barrier

Look, the finance industry has been talking about tokenization for years the way your friend talks about going to the gym. Lots of enthusiasm, not a lot of reps. But a new survey from Broadridge Financial Solutions suggests something has actually changed: 84% of financial firms now consider tokenization a strategic priority, not just a cool demo to show the board.

The catch, as always, is regulatory uncertainty. It remains the single most-cited obstacle standing between firms and full-scale deployment of tokenized assets.

What the numbers actually say

The Broadridge Tokenization Pulse Survey, released on July 16, polled 200 senior executives across wealth management, asset management, capital markets, and digital asset firms in the US and Canada. A full 68% of respondents believe tokenization will partially reshape financial markets within the next three to five years. Meanwhile, 92% expect digital and traditional assets to coexist over the long term.

About 69% of firms plan to integrate tokenization into their current systems rather than build something entirely new.

Nearly one-third of firms surveyed intend to boost their tokenization investment by 26% to 50% or more over the next two years.

Capital markets lead, wealth managers lag

Some 44% of capital markets firms already have tokenization initiatives in production or operating at scale. Compare that to 20% of asset managers and just 9% of wealth managers.

There’s also a divergence in which asset classes executives expect to get tokenized first. Around 80% believe tokenized mutual funds and money market funds will become significant within five years. Only about 50% expect the same for equities.

The regulatory wall

Regulatory uncertainty topped the list of challenges cited by survey respondents, ahead of even legacy system integration. Integration with legacy systems ranked as the second major hurdle, with 69% of firms planning hybrid integration rather than greenfield builds.

What this means for investors

The 92% consensus on long-term coexistence of digital and traditional assets indicates this is not a story about crypto replacing Wall Street, but about Wall Street absorbing useful parts of crypto infrastructure. Tokenized money market funds and mutual funds are likely to arrive first, offering benefits like fractional ownership, faster settlement, and potentially lower fees.

With capital markets firms running well ahead of wealth managers in deployment — 44% versus 9% in production or at scale — early movers could lock in structural advantages in settlement efficiency and product distribution.

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