Scottish asset manager Baillie Gifford introduced its first natively tokenized investment fund to Hong Kong professional investors on 15 Jul, putting an actively managed bond portfolio directly onto the Ethereum and Solana public blockchains.
Baillie Gifford Takes Its First Natively Tokenized Bond Fund to Hong Kong
16 July 2026 - 09:53 CEST
The Baillie Gifford Enhanced Yield Fund (BAGEY) is issued natively, meaning the fund token is itself the investor's holding and the blockchain is the official record of ownership, the Edinburgh-based manager said in a statement. Most tokenized funds wrap a conventional fund or use a special purpose vehicle, keeping a parallel offchain register. Baillie Gifford, which ran $260bn as at 30 Apr, is instead putting its book of record on public chains.
Daily dealing, with a redemption gate
BAGEY is a UK-regulated Open-Ended Investment Company authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority, sold in Hong Kong only to institutional and qualified corporate professional investors. It offers daily dealing, same-day redemptions of up to 10% of net asset value and an indicative NAV for secondary market trading.
The portfolio holds short-duration government and corporate bonds. A model portfolio yielded 7% with a two-year duration and an average credit quality of BBB as at 9 Jun, Baillie Gifford said. The benchmark is split evenly between the ICE BofA 1-3 Year US Treasury and US Corporate indices.
Settling in a stablecoin it part-ownsInvestors can subscribe and redeem in fiat or, initially, USDC. Baillie Gifford disclosed that it's an investor in Circle, the company that issues the stablecoin.
BNY builds it, NatWest holds itBNY, the US custody bank, co-designed the fund and provides its tokenization and wallet infrastructure. It paired with DigiFT on an actively managed tokenized fund in January. NatWest Trustee and Depositary Services is the depositary.
"Most tokenized funds place a digital wrapper around existing funds, BAGEY is different," said Theo Golden, head of digital assets and tokenization at Baillie Gifford. "Investors hold the fund directly on blockchain."
Stuart Dunbar, a partner at the firm, said Baillie Gifford has been "a first mover in this space".
The fund arrives as Hong Kong expands its tokenization push through Securities and Futures Commission fund guidance and central bank work on tokenized settlement.
