Key Highlights
- Securitize and Neuberger Berman launched the Neuberger Securitize High Income Tokenized Fund (HINC) on August 18.
- The fund will invest primarily in high-yield bonds, along with CLOs, leveraged loans and other fixed-income assets.
- HINC interests are being tokenized across Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Sui.
Securitize and Neuberger Berman have launched a tokenized fund focused on high-yield fixed-income investments, adding another traditional asset class to the growing market for blockchain-based investment products.
According to an official announcement published on August 18, it will invest mainly in high-yield bonds, with additional exposure to collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), leveraged loans, and other income-producing fixed-income instruments.
The fund is being issued across blockchains through Securitize’s tokenization infrastructure.
Neuberger Berman joins as subadvisor
The launch is Neuberger Berman’s first engagement as a subadvisor to a tokenized fund.
The firm will provide portfolio management and fixed-income research for Neuberger Securitize High Income Tokenized Fund (HINC). Neuberger Berman said its platform oversees more than $230 billion in assets.
Anil Abraham, Head of Product Management at Neuberger, said the firm is bringing its existing fixed-income investment approach to an onchain format.
“We are pleased to work with Securitize to extend our process-driven, actively managed approach to qualified investors looking to access fixed income strategies on-chain.”
HINC is not a retail product. Securitize said investors must qualify as accredited investors or qualified purchasers and complete applicable onboarding, KYC/AML, and jurisdictional checks.
Fund takes high-yield credit onchain
HINC differs from tokenized funds focused on assets such as U.S. Treasuries or money-market instruments.
Its portfolio will primarily consist of high-yield bonds, alongside CLOs, leveraged loans and other fixed-income investments.
That also means investors remain exposed to the risks associated with higher-yield credit, including credit, interest-rate, liquidity and market risk.
Securitize’s disclosures separately warn that the tokenized structure carries additional risks involving blockchain networks, custody, smart contracts, cybersecurity and regulatory uncertainty.
Securitize Capital will serve as the investment adviser, while Securitize Markets will offer fund interests to eligible investors. Other Securitize affiliates will provide tokenization and fund-administration services.
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said:
“This tokenized fund brings Neuberger’s established fixed income capabilities to public blockchains.”
HINC available on four networks
The fund’s tokenized interests will be supported across Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Sui.
The use of four blockchains affects the way eligible investors can access and hold the tokenized interests, but does not change the underlying investment strategy. Investors are still buying interests in a fund whose assets are primarily traditional fixed-income securities.
Securitize also states that neither the SEC nor another federal or state regulator has recommended or approved the investment or verified the completeness of the information provided about the fund.
Launch follows Securitize’s public-market debut
The HINC announcement comes weeks after Securitize began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SECZ.
The company completed its business combination with Cantor Equity Partners II in July and simultaneously introduced tokenized versions of its own shares on Avalanche and Solana.
That development is relevant to HINC because Securitize is now both a publicly traded company and a provider of infrastructure for tokenized investment products.
The company has also worked with large asset managers on tokenized products, including BlackRock’s BUIDL, which has helped establish Securitize as a major player in the institutional tokenization market.
ARK invest recently bought Securitize shares
Securitize has also attracted attention from public-market investors since its NYSE debut.
On August 17, ARK Invest purchased Securitize shares across its funds, alongside additions to holdings such as Block and Nvidia, according to recent fund-trading disclosures.
The purchase is separate from the HINC launch and does not represent an investment in the fund. It does, however, come as Securitize builds out its business as a publicly traded tokenization company.
Tokenized credit expands beyond treasury products
HINC adds a higher-risk credit strategy to the tokenized fund market, which has so far seen substantial activity around Treasuries, money-market products and private credit.
The structure also shows that tokenization is being applied to actively managed credit products rather than only relatively straightforward cash-equivalent assets.
For HINC investors, however, putting fund interests on public blockchains does not remove the risks of the underlying portfolio. The fund remains exposed to high-yield credit markets, while investors also take on risks associated with the tokenized structure.
The fund’s availability is therefore limited to investors who meet the applicable eligibility requirements and can bear the associated risks.
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