The race is on to provide Universal Asset Access across the globe.
Global finance is already being reshaped by geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, and shifting capital flows—a “multishock” environment in which the boundaries of sectors within financial services are being redrawn at unprecedented speed. These shocks are not isolated events; they accelerate the pace of change in financial services. And that quicker pace challenges the ability of executives to deploy capital strategically in anticipation of client needs.
Investment management is at the forefront of this transformation in financial services. The sector’s entire value chain is undergoing metamorphosis and could be radically different from what it is today. Where is it going? Every investor will be able to buy any asset—public, private, digital, or physical—at any time, through any channel. No more market silos, no more eligibility thresholds, no more barriers to entry.
Welcome to the era of Universal Asset Access—where investing is borderless, seamless, and open to all.
What is Universal Asset Access?
Universal Asset Access (UAA) is a vision of the future state of the asset management industry. UAA would be realized when any investor can buy or sell any type of asset, at any time, through any channel, and from any location.
It is different from traditional discussions of democratizing investing. Those often focus on a single barrier: for example, who can invest. UAA simultaneously addresses who can invest (regulatory and practical eligibility), what they can invest in (product availability) and where they can invest (infrastructure accessibility). UAA is a holistic vision of what investing could be. Regulators worldwide are converging on answers to three major accessibility questions that would usher in UAA. Agreeing on the right way forward can boost regulators' confidence that bringing UAA into existence will support their goal of improving the financial well-being of millions of people.
Universal Asset Access is built on three core principles:
Universality of investor eligibility: Any investor, regardless of income or net worth, can invest in any type of asset.
Universality of available asset types: Any type of asset—from traditional public equities, debt to private market and digital assets—is accessible to any investor.
Universality of access channels: There are no barriers to entry, and any investor can access an asset at any time, through any channel, and from any location.
Three core principles of Universal Asset Access
1. Universality of investor eligibility: Opening the doors to all investors
Private market investing today remains the preserve of wealthy individual and institutional investors. Universal investor eligibility imagines a different future—one in which anyone, regardless of income or net worth, can access the same opportunities. The potential scale is enormous: the $9.3 trillion 401(k) market, which accounts for only 20% of the $45.8 trillion in US retirement assets, is mostly concentrated in mutual funds and target date funds, according to the Investment Company Institute’s 2Q 2025 report1. Recent regulatory developments are beginning to chip away at the barriers.
Recent events show how quickly retail investors can embrace new investment options. Over the past decade, the retail investor share of US equity trading grew from around 10% in 2010 to roughly 18% in 2024, according to SIFMA2—demonstrating that large-scale individual participation can be accommodated without undermining market stability. Much of this shift was catalyzed by shocks and innovations: the COVID-19 pandemic, zero-commission trading, fractional share investing, and mobile-first platforms. These innovations compressed years of adoption into a short period of time. As operational, educational, and technological barriers fell, retail investors flocked to this new avenue. Combining this capability-based approach to private markets with tokenization and regulated fund structures, they could spark a similar transformation in alternative asset investing.
Billions in fees are up for grab by opening up private markets to retail investors. A 5% allocation to alternatives in defined contribution plans could be worth roughly $9.6 bn in new annual management fees, according to a PwC Insights Factory sensitivity analysis.
With the recent appetite to relax certain regulatory hurdles and open the retail door into private markets, many 401(k) plan sponsors, their trustees, and gatekeepers remain cautious—wary of illiquidity, operational complexity, daily valuation complexities, potential litigation and liability. Eligibility, which will likely be further addressed by regulatory changes, is one dimension. Other hurdles—such as high investment minimums, complex fund structures and limited transparency—continue to shut out retail investors.
A global perspective: Capability over wealth
As US thinking evolves, new frameworks in the European Union, United Kingdom and Singapore are allowing retail participation in illiquid assets, albeit with built-in safeguards. The European Long-Term Investment Fund regulation (ELTIF 2.0), the UK's Long-Term Asset Fund regime (LTAF) and Singapore’s proposed Long-term Investment Funds framework (LIF) mark a significant shift towards capability-based inclusion. For example, ELTIF 2.0 removes key barriers for retail investors—the €10,000 minimum investment and the 10% portfolio cap—while recalibrating the regime through more flexible diversification rules and new liquidity mechanisms. The focus shifts from rigid thresholds to structural safeguards that broaden access without diluting investor protection. Similarly, Singapore’s LIF proposes to allow retail access through well-regulated fund structures, prioritizing investor suitability, fair pricing and independent asset valuation. By focusing on how investors engage with private assets—through transparent, professionally managed vehicles—these reforms signal a broader regulatory philosophy: that access should be governed by preparedness and protection, not privilege.
2. Universality of available asset types—Broadening the spectrum of investable assets
The universality of investor eligibility is only part of the battle. What good is it to open private markets to all investors if the range of available assets is still limited? That's where the second principle of Universal Asset Access comes in: the universality of available asset types.
Expanding the range of private market assets is especially urgent as public market options shrink. For example, the US pool of public companies stands at about 4,600 today, down from over 8,000 in the mid-1990s—a decline of nearly 50%—while the number of large, private companies continues to grow. Without access to private and alternative assets, the investable universe available to most individuals may narrow further.
In a separate but related technological development, tokenization and blockchain technology has reached a level of maturity where it can open new asset classes to more investors by digitizing and fractionalizing any type of asset while also radically enhancing value portability for investors across any digitally represented asset class on chain. The days of inefficient transference of value in and out of complex asset classes may be numbered, as blockchain allows real-time, trusted value movement with transparent settlement. Many financial services firms are moving rapidly to tokenize assets and investment vehicles, sparking tremendous growth this year in the value of tokenized real-world assets. Tax efficiency is emerging as a design variable within product innovation. Tokenized funds and programmable wrappers can automate distributions, basis tracking, and tax reporting—reducing errors and “phantom income” that deter retail investors.
Pace of tokenization of real-world assets in 2025
Source: RWA.xyz, Castle Labs, Inc.
Note: Year-to-date percentage change and value as of Oct. 24, 2025
Hedge funds are moving towards tokenization too. More than half of hedge funds (52%) show interest in tokenized fund structures for the express purpose of broadening investor access and operational efficiencies, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association’s hedge fund survey.
We’re already seeing the first signs of tokenization in action now accelerated by the rapid scaling of stablecoins as a new foundation for digital money movement. With legislation and regulatory frameworks emerging across multiple jurisdictions, both institutional and retail participants are increasingly using stablecoins to transfer value instantly and securely across borders. This convergence between digital cash and tokenized investments is beginning to take shape. A growing number of funds are using forms of private blockchains and tokenization infrastructure to deliver more accessible, efficient investment options. As adoption expands, investors won’t think twice about every asset class to be digitized, tokenized, and available in real time. The movement of cash and asset together simultaneous on a blockchain is a fundamental change in how investments settle, opening the door for a more powerful financial ecosystem. Your money can work for you 24/7 in the smallest increments; your assets are “smarter” governed by smart contracts that execute against your investment goals; and with the use of AI agents portfolios can rebalance in real time.
“Every stock, every bond, every fund—every asset—can be tokenized. If they are, it will revolutionize investing. Markets wouldn’t need to close. Transactions that currently take days would clear in seconds. And billions of dollars currently immobilized by settlement delays could be reinvested immediately back into the economy, generating more growth. Perhaps most importantly, tokenization makes investing much more democratic. It can democratize access. Tokenization allows for fractional ownership. That means assets could be sliced into infinitely small pieces. This lowers one of the barriers to investing in valuable, previously inaccessible assets like private real estate and private equity.”
— BlackRock founder and CEO Larry Fink writing in the 2025 Annual Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders
“Blockchain technology can provide a number of potential efficiencies, including faster settlements, improved audit trails, and a more streamlined flow from order to trade to settlement. Additionally, once an equity asset is on a blockchain, it has the potential to be used in new ways. All of this potential means there’s excitement around this technology, and we’re hearing from the market that there is demand for a way to trade tokenized securities … That’s why this proposal is an important way to bring tokenization to the market: it will allow this new technology to evolve and be embraced, but it also ensures that the investor protections we have built up over multiple decades will stay intact.”
— Nasdaq, Inc.’s Senior Vice President of North American Markets Chuck Mack speaking about the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filing to facilitate trading of tokenized securities on its markets, September 8, 2025
Lack of technological capability is the top strategic vulnerability asset and wealth management leaders cite for their organization
3. Universality of access channels—Seamless anywhere access
Even with universal investor eligibility and asset availability, a final barrier remains: seamless access across all channels. Today, investing is fragmented. Brokerages, banks, fund managers, and digital asset exchanges each operate in silos, with geography, regulations, language, and time zones limiting participation.
However, the crypto market provides a working model of what the future could look like when fragmentation disappears—trading 24/7/365 across more than 100 countries. Beyond continuous trading, blockchain is also fundamentally improving financial access by enabling new ways for investors to assert their identity, demonstrate qualification, and seamlessly access products across jurisdictions. These capabilities could allow a broader range of investors to participate in regulated private markets through secure, portable digital identities and automated compliance checks. As highlighted in a joint PwC–Stellar study on blockchain and financial inclusion, these innovations have the potential to open alternative paths to investment participation—particularly for those historically excluded from traditional channels. The same infrastructure now being tested by enterprising fintechs for round-the-clock private-market trading could, in time, support more inclusive and efficient global capital access. Meanwhile, an important firm for moving cash globally, the Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), is adding a blockchain-based shared ledger to move tokenized value across digital ecosystems3.
As programmable tokens gain regulatory approval, peer-to-peer secondary markets could provide liquidity without the need for centralized venues.
24x7x365 access: Fintechs show what’s possible
Digital wealth platforms exemplify a new wave of fintech innovation that is breaking down traditional barriers to private market investing by delivering on the promise of universality of access channels. These platforms are designed to offer seamless, digital-first access to private equity, credit, real estate, and hedge funds—asset classes historically limited to institutions and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. By leveraging technologies such as blockchain for secure, transparent transactions and digital onboarding for simplified investor access, they enable individuals across geographies and wealth tiers to invest through intuitive, always-on platforms. Whether through mobile apps, online portals or integrated advisory tools, these platforms eliminate time zone, documentation, and custody friction, making private markets as accessible as public ones.
Regardless of their strategic DNA, firms should be preparing now for a UAA future, and our view is that success will hinge on three broad trends and their related strategies:
- Shifting capital flows. Build a growth strategy that repositions business lines according to the changing capital flows at the global, regional, and virtual levels.
- Converging FS markets. Decide how to compete when every new player is selling what legacy financial services firms once owned.
- Emerging technologies. With blockchain and tokenization, the way your firm meets your customers in the market and the way you interact with counterparties is fundamentally changing.
Trailblazers may act on all three macro trends simultaneously, using UAA to redefine their business model end-to-end. Advantage Seekers may target one or two areas where early movers have proved the case—perhaps entering tokenized private markets after capital flows and infrastructure have matured. Stability Maximizers may focus first on automation and technology to strengthen operational resilience before pursuing broader UAA-enabled convergence or cross-border capital strategies.
These distinct profiles will shape not only when firms act—but how they do so.
While these macro trends define where the industry is heading, the path to universality depends on how each firm chooses to engage with them. The three dimensions of Universal Asset Access—investor eligibility, available asset types, and access channels—are independent yet mutually reinforcing. Each represents a distinct capability that firms can advance at their own pace: expanding who can invest, what they can invest in, and how they can reach those assets. Some may prioritize one dimension based on their market position and risk appetite; others will advance them in parallel. Together, they form the operational blueprint for translating the industry’s convergence into practical, scalable strategies.
Below, we outline potential pathways for each type of firm to navigate toward this possible future.
Universality of investor eligibility: Turn inclusion into a commercial strategy
Expanding investor eligibility is no longer just a regulatory debate—it’s a commercial opportunity. As demographics evolve, digital infrastructure matures and policy frameworks open the door to broader participation, asset managers can treat inclusion as a growth engine rather than a compliance exercise. The goal is to translate regulatory flexibility and technological capability into scalable, revenue-generating products. Vehicles such as 401(k) plans, collective investment trusts, and digital fund wrappers now provide ready pathways to reach mass-affluent and retail investors through trusted, regulated formats. In addition, as retirement and retail investors gain access to private markets, fund design will also focus on after-tax outcomes, not just pre-fee returns—bringing institutional-level tax efficiency to individuals through tax-aware structures that actively manage tax attributes.
At the same time, the mechanics of inclusion are changing. Capability-based eligibility models, digital onboarding, and AI-driven suitability checks are transforming who can invest—and how they invest. These tools turn eligibility into a design choice that balances access with protection, lowers operational friction, and expands the base of long-term, digitally engaged clients. For firms, success will depend on execution readiness: aligning advisory teams, compliance systems, and data infrastructure to deliver inclusion at scale while preserving trust and profitability.
For Trailblazers, investor eligibility should be treated as a competitive differentiator. They should:
- Pilot new inclusion models by partnering with regulators and plan sponsors to launch 401(k)-eligible private-market products, using AI-driven onboarding to simplify suitability and compliance checks.
- Build internal expertise in digital assets to be agile enough to influence how convergence across markets unfolds—establishing the governance and structures needed to guide and scale participation.
- Extend personalization to after-tax outcomes by embedding tax-aware portfolio design into the investor experience. Use data and automation to optimize tax attribute realization and coordinate tax decisions across entire portfolios, delivering visibility into after-tax performance. Firms that help clients understand and manage their total after-tax return can differentiate themselves on net outcomes, not just pre-tax performance.
Advantage Seekers should focus on:
- Scaling access through proven formats, expanding participation via digital retirement platforms, tokenized feeder funds, and low-minimum hybrid vehicles that open private markets to the mass-affluent segment.
- Partnering with leading custodians and infrastructure providers that are modernizing systems for private-asset distribution and digital onboarding, ensuring access grows on a foundation of operational readiness and compliance.
- Broaden access through tax-advantaged design. Democratize sophisticated wealth-management tools—such as structures that manage tax timing and character—by embedding their benefits into regulated, transparent products. As tax-aware features become standard in funds and wrappers, firms that integrate these capabilities responsibly can expand reach while preserving trust and compliance. The market practice of what is considered incremental returns that can be directly attributed to active management of tax attributes is evolving and providing transparency and educating the investors will drive trust and durability.
Stability Maximizers can pursue measured democratization by:
Extending access through trusted structures such as collective investment trusts and 40 Act-like wrappers, supported by partnerships with established distributors and fiduciaries.
Adopting layered eligibility models that blend accreditation with knowledge- or credential-based criteria, in line with emerging frameworks like ELTIF 2.0 and Singapore’s proposed LIF regime.
Investing in succession and digital-skills development to prepare advisory teams for the next generation of investors.
Together, these pathways turn inclusion into a commercial strategy—broadening investor participation while safeguarding efficiency, trust, and margin.
Universality of available asset types: Converge your digital and traditional systems
The convergence of on- and off-chain finance marks a pivotal shift in how capital markets operate by expanding the universe of assets available to investors. Custodians, fund administrators, and transfer agents now operate alongside tokenization platforms that embed issuance, settlement, and recordkeeping directly on-chain. As these infrastructures merge, tokenized money-market funds, Treasuries, private credit, and private equity are already creating a unified ecosystem where every asset can both exist in digital and traditional form and operate collaboratively across each ecosystem.
This convergence is nascent but gaining momentum. Leading institutions are testing models across the spectrum: from permissioned ledgers to public or hybrid networks. The diversity of approaches underscores a market in transition, defined by rapid innovation and evolving regulatory interpretation.
For asset managers, the imperative is this: integrate tokenized and traditional systems to deliver products that are programmable, transparent, and scalable. Smart contracts and unified data architectures are collapsing legacy workflows cutting settlement times from days to seconds and providing real-time NAV, yield, and compliance visibility.
Infrastructure will be the defining factor in how quickly firms can participate in this convergence. Future differentiation will come not only from how products are designed, but from how they are distributed across interoperable networks that connect investors, managers, and markets in real time. Across all strategies, product design must align with the target market using fractional ownership, simplified structures, and transparent reporting to make once-exclusive asset classes accessible to the next generation of investors.
For Trailblazers, this convergence is a call to define the frontier. They should:
Build interoperable infrastructure and design tokenized products that embed governance, liquidity, and transparency from the start.
Pioneer smart-contract-driven fund vehicles that automatically rebalance between public and private markets as investor needs evolve.
Pursue strategic partnerships or acquisitions that accelerate speed to market enabling firms to grab market share and hone products.
Advantage Seekers should focus on:
Scaling proven hybrid models by using token-enabled wrappers and plug-and-play integrations with existing custodians and administrators once interoperability and regulatory frameworks mature.
Building on early tokenization pilots—such as tokenized money-market and private-credit funds that already show how blockchain can deliver real-time transparency, faster settlement, and improved liquidity. These vehicles are likely to anchor private-market adoption across defined-contribution and retail channels as interval and evergreen funds gain regulatory traction.
Stability Maximizers can participate safely through selective integration by:
Introducing tokenized exposure within trusted, regulated structures such as collective investment trusts or 40-Act-like wrappers.
Partnering selectively with tokenization providers to improve reporting, liquidity, and fractional access without disrupting the investor experience—and capturing cost efficiencies as tokenized operations reduce reconciliation and settlement steps through shared ledgers. Over time, these shared ledgers can also synchronize tax-lot and cost-basis data, paving the way for regulators to standardize on-ledger tax events such as distributions and withholding.
Together, these pathways reflect a single transformation: the expansion of asset universality through the convergence of digital and traditional systems, creating a marketplace where flexibility, interoperability, and trust coexist by design.
Universality of Access Channels: Modernize your financial plumbing
Modernizing the financial “plumbing” that connects investors, products, and markets is fundamental to realizing the goal of universal access. Today’s distribution remains constrained by siloed intermediaries—whether custodians, transfer agents, broker-dealers—each operating within closed systems and limited operating hours. In a tokenized and digitally connected world, that kind of architecture cannot scale. True universality of access depends on interoperable rails that let investors reach any asset, through any platform, at any time—securely, compliantly, and at scale. This new market infrastructure is taking shape around three core layers.
Connectivity: Open, API-first networks linking traditional and digital platforms so investors and advisors can transact seamlessly across jurisdictions and channels.
Programmable compliance: Smart onboarding, automated risk checks, and real-time disclosures embedded directly into transaction flows—expanding access without weakening protection.
Liquidity and settlement: Tokenized money markets, stablecoins, and digital cash instruments enabling 24/7 funding and atomic settlement, replacing multi-day reconciliation with instantaneous movement of value. Stablecoins are emerging as a critical on-ramp to digital asset markets, providing frictionless liquidity even as regulations limit their direct yield potential.
Together, these layers form the foundation of next-generation global distribution—an ecosystem defined by interoperability, not ownership. Competitive advantage will come from how fluidly firms connect, not how tightly they control. The goal is not a single platform but a network of interconnected ones that deliver seamless, borderless participation. For investors, these rails will make access to any asset as immediate and intuitive as any other digital experience—collapsing barriers of geography, time, and complexity.
For Trailblazers, the priority is to design and test the new rails. They should:
Establish interoperability standards and pilot programmable fund structures that integrate tokenized assets, built-in compliance, digital identity, and AI-driven personalization.
Extend access through blockchain-enabled digital wallets, allowing investors to interact directly with tokenized funds and enabling continuous, on-chain engagement that advances financial inclusion.
Advantage Seekers should focus on connecting to proven networks by:
Deploying cloud-native, API-first systems that unify investor data and support real-time settlement across public, private, and tokenized assets.
Leveraging interoperable digital rails—meaning shared-ledger networks that link banks, custodians, and tokenization platforms—to synchronize compliance and settlement in real time.
Integrating AI-powered assistants to deliver personalized, always-on investor engagement, and instant research access, following early wealth-advisory pilots that have already demonstrated significant productivity gains.
Stability Maximizers can move at a measured pace by:
Layering digital tools onto existing channels to enhance reporting, onboarding, and liquidity within familiar and regulated frameworks.
Embedding cybersecurity, KYC/AML, and audit controls directly into digital workflows to protect fiduciary standards and brand trust.
Using AI-enabled personalization carefully to improve service quality while keeping human judgment central to investor relationships.
Through these parallel approaches, each manager type can help build the plumbing that transforms today’s fragmented system into one that makes access truly universal.
