On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Theo Golden, Head of Digital Assets at Baillie Gifford, to talk about BAGEY — the firm's newly launched tokenized bond fund on Solana and Ethereum that yields around 7% and settles in USDC.

Theo breaks down why he sees tokenization as an operating system upgrade rather than a reinvention of finance, how pension funds and private banks are already showing real interest in its new tokenized fund, and why he thinks AI democratizing insight and tokenization democratizing access are two themes that will collide into something nobody has fully figured out yet.

DISCLAIMER: Although our guest this week works at Baillie Gifford, nothing in this podcast should be considered an offer of its investment advisory services or should otherwise be confused for investment, tax, legal or other financial advice.

This episode is a part of the Solana Sessions campaign that Token Relations and the Talking Tokens podcast are doing, diving into founders' journeys and startups building on Solana. Check out the accompanying newsletter on www.token-relations.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 His Journey to Digital Assets

03:33 From Journalism to Investment Theses

06:05 Learning from Successes and Failures

10:15 The Role of Independence in Baillie Gifford’s Innovation

15:19 Gradual Growth in Tokenization

20:57 Tokenization as an Operating System Upgrade

23:57 Convincing Clients of Tokenization's Value

24:50 Operational Leverage and Risk Management

27:12 The Origin of Baillie Gifford’s BAGEY Tokenized Fund

32:18 Initial Response and Market Interest

34:43 Choosing Solana and Ethereum for the Fund Launch

38:33 Solana and The Future of Internet Capital Markets

43:09 Trust and Adoption Among Institutional Investors

46:07 The Role of Traditional Institutions in Tokenization

47:59 AI and Tokenization: A Future Intersection

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Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.