Advisors divided ahead of SEC bitcoin ETF decision
It’s the eighth day of 2024 and there’s already a surprising turn of events: 88% of financial advisors are interested in buying bitcoin.
That’s according to a recent survey from Bitwise and VettiFi that also found that 98% of advisors surveyed aim to increase clients’ crypto exposure and that 88% report client interest in crypto.
This comes as the SEC is expected to make a decision on approving bitcoin exchange-trading funds. If approved, this could launch the controversial type of ETFs, allowing more advisors to experiment with the cryptocurrency and allocate it into portfolios.
Advisors seem to have mixed views on the topic, with some saying they don’t plan to buy bitcoin ETFs and others who are open to using bitcoin ETFs in client portfolios.
Ric Edelman, co-founder of Edelman Financial Engines and an advocate for digital assets, said advisors have been frustrated by the lack of a spot bitcoin ETF, which has forced them to sit on the sidelines.
“We expect that when the ETF becomes available, a far higher number of consumers will engage because ETFs are familiar to everybody,” Edelman says. “It’s the most popular investment vehicle in America. It is superior to virtually every investment platform. It’s very inexpensive, it’s the lowest-cost investment vehicle there is.”
Edelman said that another reason advisors are keen to engage with bitcoin ETFs is cost efficiency.
“It’s highly affordable, you can establish an ETF account with as little as $5. It’s highly liquid, it’s easy to buy and sell throughout the trading day. And it’s very tax efficient,” he said.
Bitcoin doesn’t come with only praises, however. As Edelman added, it’s also complicated to understand, which is one of the main reasons why advisors tend to shy
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