Thomas Sy of New York Life Investment Management argued that blockchain technology offers the best path to large-scale customized investment portfolios. He spoke in an interview about how tokenization can overcome operational limits in traditional finance. Stablecoin growth is also driving interest in yield-bearing tokenized products.
Thomas Sy heads multi-asset solutions at NYLIM, the $807 billion asset management arm of New York Life. His team oversees roughly $11 billion. Sy told CoinDesk that customization represents the biggest opportunity for tokenization.
"We believe that the future of asset management is going to be customization," he said. "The only technology that can help us get there at scale is the blockchain." He noted that combining ETFs, bonds and private credit creates complexity that current systems struggle to handle at scale.
NYLIM recently partnered with Centrifuge to move one of its high-yield corporate bond strategies onchain. Sy added that stablecoins, whose market now exceeds $300 billion, have opened the door for institutions to seek tokenized assets that generate yield.
He said institutional DeFi will require further infrastructure such as tokenized collateral and central clearing before wider adoption. Citi has projected the tokenized real-world asset market could grow to $5.5 trillion by 2030 from $30 billion today.
