(Bloomberg) — Watchmen Financial advisers overseeing assets — the holy grail among fund issuers — are particularly picky when it comes to the newly launched U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETF.
Carson Group, an Omaha, Neb.-based registered investment advisory firm with $30 billion on its platform, said it has approved just 10 of the 10 new Bitcoin ETFs. 4 only. The list includes BlackRock’s $6.6 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust (ticker IBIT) and $4.8 billion Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) — the two products that have attracted the largest investor inflows to date — as well as Bitwise and Franklin Templeton’s smaller offerings.
Grant Engelbart, the company’s vice president and investment strategist, said Carson’s priorities in selecting IBIT and FBTC were “significant asset growth” and trading volume. Meanwhile, the $1.2 billion Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and the $100 million Franklin Bitcoin ETF (which will ultimately charge 0.2% and 0.19% fees respectively) are among the cheapest offerings in the space.
“We think it’s important to have these products offered by two of the largest asset managers in the industry,” Engelbart said of BlackRock and Fidelity’s ETFs. “Bitwise and Franklin Templeton are committed to being the lowest-cost provider in the space and have also seen significant inflows and trading volumes. The companies have also built in-house digital asset research teams and expertise, which we believe will benefit the product of continued growth and management, as well as consultancy research and education.”
For the companies behind Bitcoin ETFs eager to tap into new audiences, entering a platform that caters to financial advisors and their retail clients makes sense. Some platforms, such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab, already have funds available for RIAs to trade for their clients, while LPL Financial is taking a wait-and-see approach.On the other hand, Vanguard Group no plan Allow funds to be traded through its brokerage business.
Bitwise’s Hunter Horsley said platform approval could be a “huge catalyst” for fund growth, given that financial advisors oversee trillions of dollars.
“More than half of U.S. wealth is part of the platform, and products cannot be used until approved,” said Bitwise CEO Horsley. “We often hear ‘I want to access Bitcoin, but our platform hasn’t approved anything yet.’ “The platforms are busy, but now with ETFs and over a billion in AUM, they are doing the job. “
