Wesvel

Strategy 04 · Tokenized Real-World Assets

Access and Eligibility

Who can hold what, and where.

Tokenized instruments are securities, and the rules that govern who may hold a security do not disappear because the record of ownership is on a blockchain. Many are offered only to non-US persons. Others are limited to qualified purchasers. Some are available to both, on different terms. A manager operating separate US and non-US vehicles would therefore hold different tokenized exposures in each.

Enforcement at the contract level

Most tokenized securities are permissioned: the token contract maintains a whitelist of approved addresses, and a transfer to an address not on it fails. The issuer runs identity and eligibility checks before whitelisting. This makes eligibility enforcement a technical fact rather than a compliance assertion, and also means that a whitelisting error or lapse can freeze a position until it is corrected.

Two vehicles, two books

A US vehicle can generally hold tokenized instruments offered to US qualified purchasers. A non-US vehicle can hold instruments offered to non-US persons, which include most tokenized equities and a broader set of tokenized funds. The strategy can be identical while the instrument lists differ, and a fund’s own documents govern what it may hold.

Jurisdictional change

Rules governing tokenized securities are being written and rewritten in every major jurisdiction. An instrument eligible today may be restricted tomorrow, or newly available. Any holder needs to track the regulatory position of each instrument and be able to exit or substitute on short notice.

Practice

How Wesvel approaches it

  • 01Eligibility per instrument and per vehicle is confirmed with counsel and recorded before any position is taken.
  • 02Whitelisting status of every holding address is monitored, and the operational path to re-whitelist is tested with each issuer.
  • 03Position systems enforce the instrument list per vehicle; an ineligible instrument cannot be bought into the wrong book.
  • 04Regulatory developments affecting held instruments are reviewed on a schedule, with exit and substitution plans prepared in advance.
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