FrigerioCetif), "Tokenization and AI revolutionize consulting."

Tokenized assets. That is, transformed into digital contracts exchangeable on blockchain, capable of securely and transparently transferring property rights - without the need for notaries and with low costs. This is the same mechanism that has fueled, in the digital art world, the speculative phenomenon of non-fungible tokens (Nft). But the real frontier is another: employing these instruments to represent property titles linked to tangible assets. Stock shares, real estate fractions, real rights.

We talked about this with Chiara Frigerio, deputy director of the Research Center in Technology, Innovation and Financial Services atCattolica Università Cetif).

Professor, is our market ready for tokenization?
I would say there are lights and shadows. Tokenization is a process that takes time, so we are still in the middle of this change. Some markets are more ready: for example, the U.S., which as always on financial innovation dictates the rules a bit. Asia is also ahead, while Europe is getting ready, especially from the regulatory point of view. In Europe we always start with regulation, and in fact several aspects have been clarified: what tokens are, particularly security tokens, what regulations apply, and above all a clear distinction has been made between tokens and cryptocurrencies. We are also leading the way with various experiments. However, some steps are still missing, including at the level of incentives-probably tax-but we are moving quickly.

From the perspective of the end investor, what concrete benefits can tokenization offer?
Tokenization promises - and in part already realizes - greater liquidity of portfolios, making it easier to invest and disinvest in real time. We are talking about so-called delivery versus payment: the moment you make a payment, you immediately get the asset in your portfolio, without having to wait for traditional operational times. Another advantage is continuous operation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In addition, real assets, linked to the real economy, can also be tokenized.

So in the future we will not only have stocks and bonds in the portfolio, but also real estate or assets related to personal passions?
Correct. It is likely that investors will also be able to integrate personal interests into their portfolios: real estate, voting rights, real rights to tangible assets. For example, you will be able to hold small rights to areas related to individual passions: sports rights, rights to music, to entertainment content. And I also believe very much in the possibility of tokenizing currently illiquid assets, such as SMEs. This is a relevant issue, especially for made in Italy, which could be enhanced in a new way thanks to this technology. This is also part of the European Union's grand strategy, with the Savings and Investments Union: it is consistent with the need to get capital flowing to our small and medium-sized enterprises.

Last question on artificial intelligence, which is considered a momentous change for many industries. Are we already seeing interesting applications in finance?
Absolutely. We just conducted a survey with Consob on wealth managers who follow high-end clients. We found that about 10 percent of them are already using artificial intelligence, although it is not yet generalist generative AI and has not yet been provided directly by their organizations. This means there is a strong need. AI can help synthesize information, build connections, update quickly. Of course you need controlled AI, because it is a probabilistic technology, not deterministic - so it can also make mistakes. But I think it is AI that will be the technology that, more than any other, will move us forward. Specifically, in this area: that of consulting. It will help advisors serve clients better, get to know them better, and really achieve that goal-based advisory that we talk a lot about here at the show. And that is perhaps what our clients need most,