Ondo Finance Introduces Proxy Voting for $700 Million Worth of Tokenized Equities

In a bid to bridge the gap between traditional and tokenized equities, Ondo Finance has introduced a proxy voting feature, enabling investors to participate in corporate decision-making. Through its partnership with Broadridge Financial Solutions, Ondo's platform now allows holders of over 250 tokenized securities to review company documents and cast their votes using Broadridge's ProxyVote system. By logging in with their crypto wallets, investors can access tools and documents typically reserved for traditional brokerage accounts. This move is significant, given the rapid growth of the tokenized equities sector, which has seen its value triple to over $1.1 billion in the past year, according to RWA.xyz data. 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-U.S. investors. The introduction of proxy voting is crucial, as tokenized equities often lack basic governance rights. Although Ondo's tokens do not grant direct shareholder rights, the new system enables investors to express their preferences, which Ondo can then apply when voting on the underlying shares. 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. "This combines the benefits of being on a blockchain, such as free transferability and DeFi compatibility, with the governance rights associated with the underlying assets," he said in an interview with CoinDesk. Broadridge, a leading processor of proxy votes in traditional markets, is extending its infrastructure to support blockchain-based systems. The goal is to provide a seamless experience for both digital and conventional assets within the same workflow. By offering the same level of auditability, transparency, and compliance, this move is expected to increase investor trust and make the tokenized world more scalable, according to Danielle Gurrieri, senior vice president and head of product management at Broadridge.