Wall Street investment banking giant Morgan Stanley’s European-focused fund has submitted documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, adding language that suggests the company may invest in a Bitcoin spot ETF. In addition, sources revealed today that Morgan Stanley is planning to add a BTC spot ETF product to its brokerage platform.
Morgan Stanley’s Europe Opportunity Fund, a subsidiary of the Wall Street investment bank, submitted an updated N-1A form to the SEC on the 27th, indicating that the fund may invest in a Bitcoin spot ETF, although the investment amount must be less than 25% of the fund’s assets (the fund currently has $142 million in assets).
According to The Block, the fund has previously held shares of Grayscale’s GBTC and is currently focused on investing in European companies. With the approval of the GBTC’s transformation into a Bitcoin spot ETF in January of this year, the new disclosure added by Morgan Stanley may be a precautionary measure, but it is also likely that there is genuine interest in investing in a Bitcoin spot ETF.
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, stated that the addition of Bitcoin disclosure information by the fund may be a defensive measure to prevent the fund from having exposure to a Bitcoin spot ETF without disclosure. However, as the fund has had relatively low inflows of funds in the past few years, the disclosure of potential investment in a Bitcoin spot ETF may also be a growth strategy, “so this may just be looking for a little excitement, a little advantage,” added Balchunas.
He estimates that the fund’s exposure to a Bitcoin spot ETF will not exceed 2% of the fund’s assets, and he believes that it is a reasonable allocation for the Appleseed mutual fund to invest 1.1% of its assets in Bitcoin.
Furthermore, Morgan Stanley, which manages over $150 billion in assets, is planning to allow its clients to invest in a Bitcoin spot ETF. According to Coindesk, the company is conducting due diligence on adding Bitcoin spot ETF products to its brokerage platform, citing two informed sources.
One of the sources stated that as one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States, Morgan Stanley has been evaluating the provision of such products to its clients since the SEC approved the listing of Bitcoin spot ETFs in January.
Although Bitcoin spot ETFs listed in the United States have attracted billions of dollars in funds, the investment gate for mainstream investors cannot truly open until Bitcoin spot ETF products are available on large registered investment advisor (RIA) networks and brokerage platforms (such as those affiliated with companies like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo).
Related Reports:
– Bitcoin spot ETF daily trading volume of $2 billion reaches a “new high,” VanEck’s $HODL trading volume increases 14 times, what happened?
– European Central Bank: Bitcoin is “the emperor’s new clothes” with zero value, ETF prosperity is an illusion
– Morgan Stanley|Wall Street’s first! Offering three “Bitcoin funds” to serve high-net-worth clients.