Morgan Stanley removes restrictions on wealth management clients holding crypto funds

PANews reported on October 10th that Morgan Stanley informed its financial advisors on Friday that it is expanding cryptocurrency investment access to all clients and allowing such investments in any account type, including retirement accounts. Starting October 15th, financial advisors will be able to recommend cryptocurrency funds to any client. Previously, this option was limited to clients with a higher risk tolerance and at least $1.5 million in assets who wished to invest in cryptocurrency in taxable brokerage accounts.

With Morgan Stanley removing eligibility requirements for cryptocurrency funds, the firm will rely on automated monitoring processes to ensure clients are not overly concentrated in this volatile asset class, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank's global investment committee recently released a model that recommends setting an initial allocation of up to 4% to cryptocurrencies based on different goals, ranging from "wealth preservation" to "opportunistic growth." People familiar with the matter said that for now, financial advisors are still limited to recommending Bitcoin funds from BlackRock and Fidelity, but Morgan Stanley is monitoring industry trends and considering adding other cryptocurrencies to these products. They added that clients can also request to invest in any listed cryptocurrency exchange-traded product.