The Swiss asset manager warns that crypto “has no place in private banking” for now
The recent cryptocurrency market rout has warranted financial organizations around the world to take a more cautious approach to the burgeoning asset class, with one asset manager warning against investing in it until the situation stabilises.
In fact, Swiss asset management firm Pictet Group has acknowledged crypto’s growing role, but also stressed that cryptocurrency had no place in private banking, at least for now, Bloomberg’s Krystal Chia and Suvashree Ghosh reported on August 4.
Crypto here to stay, but far from private banking
During a panel at the Bloomberg Asia Wealth Summit in Singapore, Tee Fong Seng, managing director of the firm’s Asia Wealth Management division, explained that:
“Crypto will be an asset class that we cannot ignore, but today I don’t think there is room for private bankers and for private bank portfolios.”
Furthermore, Tee also warned about the volatility in the crypto sector over the past couple of years, adding that the Pictet teams were closely monitoring the situation as it unfolded. As he said:
“If you look at the volatility of the last two years, you can make a lot of money, you can lose a lot of money. (…) The question is when do we get the customers into the picture?
Wealth managers’ interest in crypto
Elsewhere, multinational investment management giant BlackRock (NYSE: BLK ) has partnered with Coinbase to connect its institutional clients who own assets on the crypto exchange with Aladdin’s tools for asset managers.
Meanwhile, 200-year-old asset manager Schroders has bought a minority stake in New York-based crypto firm Forteus as part of efforts to expand research into the blockchain sector, Finbold reported in late July.
At the same time, Schwab Asset Management, the asset management division of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW), announced the debut of the Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF, its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to cryptocurrencies.
Earlier in July, Ronald-Peter Stoeferle, managing partner at investment management firm Incrementum AG, said Bitcoin (BTC) has eclipsed gold despite the bear market. In the long term, he stated that the flagship crypto will become a less risky asset and eventually become a store of value.
Finally, in early April, Mary Rich, the new global head of digital assets for Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE: GS ) private wealth management division, announced that the bank would begin offering its first investment vehicles for Bitcoin.
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