Lazard, a 175-year-old global financial services firm, is venturing into the digital asset space by planning to create tokenized funds in collaboration with Bitfinex Securities and SkyBridge Invest. This initiative marks a significant increase in traditional financial institutions entering the asset tokenization market, following similar moves by companies like BlackRock and HSBC. The tokenized funds will be established under Kazakhstan's financial services law and will be overseen by the Astana Financial Services Authority. Bitfinex Securities will manage the tokenization, while SkyBridge will serve as the broker and manager. These products will be accessible to retail investors, albeit with geographic restrictions, and can be purchased using Tether's stablecoin. Lazard aims to offer exposure through a 'fund of funds' structure, primarily focusing on global and emerging market equities, products previously restricted to professional and institutional investors. The announcement came after the signing of a memorandum of understanding at a conference in Switzerland.

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