Understanding Tokenized Shares and Ownership Rights With Equiniti

What does an investor actually own when a share becomes a token, and who keeps the official record accurate?

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Dan Kramer, Chief Executive Officer of Equiniti, about the infrastructure behind tokenized securities.

While much of the discussion focuses on trading venues and settlement, Dan brings the conversation back to the record of ownership and the responsibilities of a transfer agent, or registrar in the UK. He explains why issuers want a consistent register rather than separate versions of ownership across different systems.

We discuss the difference between shares issued by a company and tokens created by a third party to represent an interest in an underlying asset. Dan explains why voting rights, information rights and exposure to another organization deserve attention when assessing a tokenized product.

We also consider how existing market infrastructure connects to this work and why the technology itself cannot answer every question about rights and responsibilities.

The conversation then turns to AI in shareholder services. I ask Dan about accountability when software assists with proxy voting, and we discuss the importance of being able to understand how decisions were reached.

He also shares Equiniti's approach to employee training and its ambition to make interactions with its systems available through natural language by the end of 2027. This is a future target, rather than a description of capabilities already available across the business.

Dan also discusses the planned Bullish acquisition and how the companies intend to bring together issuer relationships and blockchain infrastructure.

We close with a practical example of a customer portal moving from a Monday discussion to a Thursday delivery, illustrating his view of how development is changing.

For leaders assessing tokenization, the conversation offers useful questions about ownership, controls and the experience shareholders should receive. Which questions would your organization need answered before considering tokenized shares?

Please share your thoughts with me.