NYLIM exec signals personalized-portfolio tokenization, not speed, as the structural edge for allocators

Tokenization’s most valuable future application may not be faster settlement or round-the-clock trading, but the ability to build personalized investment portfolios at scale, according to Thomas Sy, head of multi-asset solutions at New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM). In an interview with CoinDesk, Sy argued that blockchain technology could let asset managers tailor portfolios to individual investors in ways the current financial system cannot support.

Sy’s team oversees roughly $11 billion within NYLIM, the $807 billion asset management arm of insurer New York Life. His comments come as tokenization efforts across Wall Street pick up pace, with banks, asset managers and infrastructure providers issuing tokenized money market funds, private credit and equities in a bid to modernize back-office financial infrastructure.

Customization as the end goal

“We believe that the future of asset management is going to be customization,” Sy told CoinDesk. “The only technology that can help us get there at scale is the blockchain.”

Sy explained that personalized investment strategies typically blend ETFs, bonds, private credit and other asset types, which creates operational complexity that limits how widely such customization can be offered today. Tokenization, he said, could embed that flexibility directly into the assets themselves rather than requiring firms to manage it through separate operational layers.

“The end goal is to embed the customization within the asset itself, rather than the customization sitting around the operations around the different assets,” he said.

He added that tokenization could also simplify transfer agency, settlement and other administrative processes, cutting costs that would ultimately flow through to investors. “If you can bring that down by 10% or 20%, that’s a better outcome for our clients,” Sy said.

NYLIM recently became the latest major asset manager to enter the tokenization space, partnering with Centrifuge (CFG) to bring one of its high-yield corporate bond strategies onchain.

Stablecoins as the on-ramp

Sy pointed to stablecoins as the first practical bridge connecting traditional financial institutions to blockchain rails. The stablecoin market has grown past $300 billion and is increasingly used for cross-border payments, according to the report.

“Stablecoins were probably one of the biggest unlocks in the past two years,” Sy said. “Adopting stablecoins was the gateway to get them onchain.”

As banks, payment companies and fintechs increasingly hold stablecoin balances for treasury management and settlement, Sy expects many to seek institutional-grade tokenized products that let idle balances earn yield instead of sitting in cash. He said this dynamic should broaden demand for tokenized investment products over the coming years.

DeFi still needs to mature

NYLIM is also examining decentralized finance, though Sy said wider institutional participation will require more developed market infrastructure, including tokenized collateral, central clearing and prime brokerage services.

“I do think there is a use case for [DeFi], but we need a little bit more time for it to institutionalize,” he said.

Citi has projected that the market for tokenized real-world assets could expand to $5.5 trillion by 2030, up from roughly $30 billion currently, underscoring the scale of opportunity that firms like NYLIM are positioning to capture.

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