Ernst & Young Global Blockchain Leader: Tokenized Assets Will Reshape Portfolio Management

According to ChainCatcher news reported by CoinDesk, Paul Brody, the global blockchain leader at EY, expressed the view that tokenizing physical assets through blockchain can create daily, transparent price information for market data traditionally limited to a few asset classes, thereby redefining the way portfolio management is conducted.

Brody pointed out that modern portfolio theory originates from Eugene Fama's efficient market theory in the 1960s. Although this theory has its flaws, the index fund strategies developed from it have become the default choice for managing pension and retirement accounts. Currently, about 80% of institutional investors' portfolios are concentrated in stock and bond index funds, while alternative investment strategies account for only 15-20%.

The emergence of tokenized assets will expand the range of investable assets, allowing investors to access asset classes and regions that have been overlooked due to data scarcity or lack of liquidity. For example, by tokenizing physical assets such as real estate in Thailand, oil leases in Nigeria, or taxi medallions in New York, continuous and transparent price data can be generated, enabling these assets to be compared on equal footing with traditional assets like U.S. stocks.

Brody anticipates that this transition will take about a decade, including the establishment of a broad portfolio of tokenized assets and the accumulation of 5-7 years of daily data records. With the proliferation of AI-driven automated investment tools, this transition may occur more rapidly than historical shifts in investment patterns. EY will host a global blockchain summit from April 1-3 to discuss the role of digital assets in portfolios.