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

In a bid to bring tokenized equities closer to their traditional counterparts, Ondo Finance is now offering investors a means to engage in corporate governance through proxy voting. This feature, developed in collaboration with Broadridge Financial Solutions, enables holders of over 250 tokenized securities on Ondo's platform to review company filings and submit their voting preferences via Broadridge's ProxyVote system. By logging in with their crypto wallets, investors can access documents and governance tools typically reserved for traditional brokerage accounts. The introduction of proxy voting is significant, as tokenized equities have experienced rapid growth, with over $1.1 billion in value locked, more than tripling in size over the past year. As the largest issuer in this sector, Ondo has over $700 million in stock and ETF tokens on its Global Markets platform, catering to non-U.S. investors. The addition of proxy voting addresses a key limitation of equity tokens, which often lack basic governance rights. Although Ondo's tokens remain separate from the underlying shares and do not grant direct shareholder rights, the new system allows investors to express their preferences, which Ondo can then apply when voting the shares it holds. According to Matthieu de Vergnes, Ondo's global head of institutional, this development aligns with Ondo's vision of making traditional financial assets more accessible, combining the benefits of on-chain assets with the governance of underlying assets. Broadridge, a leading processor of proxy votes in traditional markets, is extending its infrastructure to blockchain systems through this partnership. The goal is to support both digital and conventional assets within the same workflows, providing investors with the same level of auditability, transparency, and compliance. As noted by Danielle Gurrieri, senior vice president and head of product management at Broadridge, this will enhance the scalability and trust of the tokenized world for end investors.