Many fans had over 60% of their assets in Crypto, the survey says

Although around 39% of clients have asked their advisors about cryptocurrency investments, investor interest is now waning following the spring crypto crash, according to an online survey by the Money Management Institute (MMI) and Aon.

Only 14% of investors surveyed said they would be very likely to add crypto to their portfolio if their advisor offered it, and only 21% said they would be somewhat likely to do so, leaving the researchers to say that “wealth management companies should be in no rush to add crypto investments to their product portfolios while legal and regulatory frameworks remain uncertain.”

And that’s a good thing, said Peter Keuls, global head of wealth management at Aon, as 42% of advisers surveyed said they believed they were experts in cryptocurrencies and crypto wallets.

“I’m not so sure they really are,” he said. “I think they feel like they’re experts because they’ve done it. They may not feel so expert anymore now that the market has crashed.”

Meanwhile, 31% of advisors surveyed said crypto was an inappropriate investment for retail investors.

The survey was conducted in March and consisted of data from 1,500 ultra-rich and wealthy investors with investable assets of at least $250,000.

Regardless of where an adviser falls on the spectrum of embracing this asset class, a whole range of advisers are going to help burned investors make a financial comeback, the survey said. With crypto portfolios down more than 50% from their peak, investors who overallocated in this arena will likely need help getting their financial goals back on track as this loss coincides with a time when stock and bond markets are facing their own turbulence.

The pool of clients potentially looking for less flashy advice is large – and their assets even larger, the survey found.

Unsurprisingly, interest in crypto has been strongest among those under 35, with 80% of them holding some cryptocurrency, the survey said. 52 percent of investors under the age of 35 had at least 60% of their portfolios dedicated to crypto. Of the heavy crypto adopters, 48% said the investment value of that part of their portfolio was between $1 million and $2 million, and 37% said it was more than $2 million, according to the survey.

“When you look at the average crypto holding of the under-45s, it was more than 50% of their portfolio,” Keuls said. “Which is terrifying.”