US asset management giant Franklin Templeton continues to expand its presence in the cryptocurrency field. After launching a Bitcoin spot ETF and applying for an Ethereum spot ETF, Franklin Templeton announced on Tuesday the launch of a Bitcoin/Ethereum separately managed account (SMA) targeting professional investors.
With over $1 trillion in assets under management, Franklin Templeton aims to provide investors with greater customization in asset diversification and tax optimization strategies through its Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Dynamic BTC/ETH SMA. This actively managed product is designed to outperform a market-cap-weighted portfolio of Bitcoin and Ethereum. It will be available to registered investment advisors (RIA) and other US wealth management firms on the Eaglebrook Advisors’ SMA platform, with Anchorage Digital serving as the asset custodian.
In 2022, Franklin Templeton previously launched two digital asset SMAs on the Eaglebrook platform: the Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Core and the Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Core Capped. The Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Core strategy follows a market-cap-weighted approach and invests in the 10 to 15 largest digital assets, excluding stablecoins and meme coins. The Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Core Capped strategy employs a similar approach but sets the portfolio’s allocation limits for Bitcoin and Ethereum at 25%.
Chris King, the founder of Eaglebrook, highlighted the main differences between cryptocurrency SMAs and Bitcoin spot ETFs, which lie in tax optimization and portfolio customization. Through SMAs, clients can directly hold Bitcoin and digital assets, enabling them to utilize automated tax-loss harvesting strategies to reduce or defer tax obligations.
Eaglebrook is a cryptocurrency investment platform that provides RIAs with the opportunity to gain direct exposure to Bitcoin and digital assets. It operates one of the largest SMA platforms in the cryptocurrency market, offering tax-optimized Bitcoin and Ethereum SMAs, as well as third-party investment manager strategies held by institutional-grade custodians. As a registered investment advisor with over 70 RIA partnerships and more than 700 financial advisors using its platform, Eaglebrook has garnered support from top wealth management executives and financial institutions, including Castle Island Ventures, Brewer Lane Ventures, and Franklin Templeton.