Ondo Finance Introduces Proxy Voting for $700 Million in Tokenized Equities

Ondo Finance is bridging the gap between tokenized equities and their traditional counterparts by introducing a feature that enables investors to participate in corporate decision-making. The platform, in collaboration with Broadridge Financial Solutions, now allows holders of over 250 tokenized securities to review company documents and cast their votes via Broadridge's ProxyVote system. By logging in with their crypto wallets, investors can access tools and documents typically reserved for traditional brokerage accounts. The introduction of proxy voting is significant, as tokenized equities have experienced rapid growth, with the sector now valued at over $1.1 billion. As the largest issuer in this sector, Ondo has more than $700 million in tokenized stocks and ETFs on its Global Markets platform, catering to non-US investors. The addition of proxy voting addresses a long-standing issue in the sector, where token holders often lacked basic governance rights. Although Ondo's tokens are separate from the underlying shares and do not grant direct shareholder rights, the new system enables investors to express their preferences, which Ondo can then apply when voting on the shares it holds. According to Matthieu de Vergnes, Ondo's global head of institutional, this development aligns with the company's vision of making traditional financial assets more accessible. "It combines the benefits of being on-chain, such as free transferability and compatibility with DeFi, with the governance rights associated with the underlying assets," he said in an interview. Broadridge, a leading processor of proxy votes in traditional markets, is expanding its infrastructure to support blockchain-based systems. The goal is to provide a unified workflow for both digital and conventional assets, ensuring the same level of auditability, transparency, and compliance. As Danielle Gurrieri, senior vice president and head of product management at Broadridge, noted, this will help establish trust among end-investors and make the tokenized world more scalable.