Crypto SMA firm Eaglebrook launches Tamp offering

Crypto SMA firm Eaglebrook Advisors is targeting a turnkey asset management program (Tamp) model, where advisors can invest on behalf of their clients in digital asset portfolios offered by various asset managers. The firm announced Thursday that it will add to its platform two digital asset SMAs from Franklin Templeton; the asset manager made an investment of an unknown size in Eaglebrook earlier this year.

Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Core SMA is a market capitalization weighted portfolio consisting of 10 to 15 major cryptocurrencies. Aside from bitcoin and ethereum, the firm did not disclose which digital assets the strategy invests in, only noting that it excludes stablecoins and “meme coins.” The second SMA contains the same assets, but limits holdings of bitcoin and ethereum to 25% of the portfolio each. Rebalancing will take place monthly. The two SMAs will become available on Eaglebrook’s platform in mid-October. Like Eaglebrook, assets in Franklin Templeton’s SMA are held in custody by Gemini. Models for Franklin Templeton’s two crypto SMAs are managed by senior vice president and director of digital asset management Tony Pecore.

“These new digital asset SMA strategies provide advisors and their clients with the opportunity to gain exposure to the digital asset ecosystem while supporting advisors through professional management and oversight,” said Pecore.

Eaglebrook CEO Christopher King told Citywire that he sees the Tamp offering as “the next evolution of our business.” Eaglebrook previously offered advisers a flagship crypto portfolio comprised of 70% bitcoin and 30% ethereum — the two largest digital assets by market capitalization, and the two Eaglebrook is most bullish on, King said. The Tamp offering will expand this suite of available products and make it easier for advisors to monitor and bill clients’ crypto holdings beyond bitcoin.

“We’ve been working towards this since day one,” King said. “We really wanted to get advisors comfortable with allocating to the two largest assets – bitcoin and ether – before moving into more professionally managed, actively managed multi-asset strategies, which is what we do with Franklin Templeton here. We believe it is a major turning point in this market as it is the first time a multi-billion dollar asset manager has actually launched a strategy where they directly manage these assets.’

Within Eaglebrook’s platform, advisors will be able to select Franklin Templeton’s SMAs from the same dashboard where they select Eaglebrook’s flagship bitcoin/ether SMA. The advisor onboard a customer account, selects the desired strategy and transfers the money. Once the money is invested, Eaglebrook’s platform begins feeding transaction data back into the adviser’s portfolio reporting system – be it Orion, Black Diamond, Addepar or another – within eight hours.

Eaglebrook plans to add more digital asset SMAs from other asset managers to its platform later this year.

While much of Eaglebrook’s focus for the rest of the year will be on growing the Tamp offering, King said he’s still working hard to court RIA clients. Having signed deals with 75 firms encompassing more than $500 billion in combined AUM, including heavyweights like Dynasty Financial Partners and Mariner Wealth Advisors (Mariner’s Marty Bicknell is an investor in Eaglebrook), King is now targeting large RIA platforms and network.

“We want to work with Rockefeller, Hightower and NewEdge,” King said. “We focus on educating them, explaining why the low-cost structure with professional management and customization is really a holistic end-to-end solution, as opposed to just going into a private fund or buying GBTC [the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust]. This is really the best thing for their customers. And when you are a financial investment advisor, you must choose the solution or provider that you know is in the best interest of the client.’