The Assetization Imperative

A third powerful force is transforming financial markets: the ability to convert virtually any asset, idea, or data stream into an investable product. This "Assetization Imperative" is expanding the investment universe at unprecedented rates.

04·01The $78 trillion non-bankable asset opportunity

Traditional wealth management approaches have focused primarily on easily quantifiable investments like cash, stocks, and bonds. However, Accenture estimates that nearly half of the world's ultra-high net worth wealth — approximately $30 trillion globally — is held in "non-bankable assets" such as real estate, vintage cars, art, wine, and jewelry[10]. Our research exceeds that figure, estimating the opportunity at $78 trillion[11].

These assets have historically been complex to include in professionally managed portfolios due to:

• Limited liquidity
• Complex valuation methodologies
• High transaction costs
• Lack of standardization
• Ownership verification challenges
• Tokenization and Digital Assets

Technological innovations in the domain of Assetization are now enabling the transformation of these non-bankable assets into tradable, digital representations. The Assetization process helps create standardized investment wrappers for any underlying asset, bringing several advantages:

• Increased liquidity: Assetization allows for increased ownership, making buying and selling portions of high-value assets easier than requiring outright ownership.
• Lower transaction costs: By reducing the need for specialized brokers and intermediaries, assetization, like tokenization, can significantly decrease costs for buyers and sellers.
• Expanded market access: Previously exclusive asset classes become accessible to a broader range of investors, democratizing investment opportunities.
• Enhanced transparency: By running "on-chain," the technology can provide immutable ownership records and transaction histories, reducing fraud potential and simplifying verification[12].

04·02Beyond traditional assets

The Assetization revolution goes even beyond assetizing non-bankable assets. Assetization pushes the boundaries of what can be turned into investable products, extending well beyond traditional asset classes. This transformation is creating entirely new investment products:

• Emerging Asset Classes: The rise of data streams, intellectual property, future income rights, and even weather data creates entirely new asset classes.
• Weather derivatives are already being used to hedge against climate-related risks and are gaining traction as financial instruments. This segment has vast potential as industries seek ways to mitigate the growing impact of climate change on their operations.
• Similarly, the growth of betting markets around sports, politics, and future events is also rapidly evolving into a structured, tradable market, offering significant opportunities for speculative investments.
• Non-Traditional and Non-Refundable Assets: Assets such as travel bookings (hotel rooms, flights, event tickets), including non-refundable bookings, cancellations, and open tickets, can now be converted into transferable, tradable assets.
• These markets are valued at over $1 trillion globally, with the non-refundable asset segment estimated at $100 billion annually.

The broader trend is the "Assetization of everything" — transforming tangible and intangible assets into investable products. This trend increases market access and plays a pivotal role in democratizing investment opportunities, allowing a wider range of investors to participate. This democratizes access to investments in previously illiquid and hard-to-trade assets[13].

04·03How assetization fuels new revenue streams

The rise of private markets and alternative assets presents a "wallet share" risk for traditional banks. When a client wants to invest in private equity, art, or crypto, they typically withdraw cash from their managed account to send it elsewhere. GenTwo's Assetization infrastructure turns this outflow into a retained asset.

• Capture the "Non-Bankable" $78 Trillion. Clients are increasingly demanding exposure to non-bankable assets. By adopting FEaaS infrastructure, institutions can wrap these diverse underlying assets into white-label investment products (such as AMCs or Notes). This strategic shift transforms a potential cash withdrawal into a new, fee-generating security that remains within the bank's custody, effectively expanding the institution's addressable market.
• Bridge the Gap with Bankable Securities (ISINs). The challenge for most banks is not the lack of asset availability, but the lack of integration with legacy systems. The solution lies in creating standardized investment wrappers that assign an International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) to non-bankable assets. This "bankability" allows complex assets — from digital tokens to private debt — to sit seamlessly in a client's existing custody account alongside standard equities and bonds, eliminating the friction of external wallets or specialized brokers.
• Democratize Access via Fractionalization. Historically, exclusive asset classes like venture capital were restricted by high minimum tickets and complex onboarding processes. Modern infrastructure allows for the fractionalization of these assets, lowering entry barriers and offering "institutional-grade" access to a broader client base. This capability enables relationship managers to differentiate their offering by providing access to sophisticated markets previously reserved for ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
• Accelerate Product Innovation. Speed is a competitive differentiator. Traditional structuring of novel products — such as a tracker on Fine Wine or a certificate on a Carbon Credit portfolio — can take months. By leveraging algorithmic structuring engines, institutions can compress this timeline to days. This operational agility allows banks to transition from being mere distributors of third-party products to creators of proprietary solutions, capturing the full value chain of the investment product.