In a first for the UK, a British pension fund has added Bitcoin to its balance sheet, allocating 3% of its portfolio to the cryptocurrency. Cartwright, the pension advisory firm behind this one-of-a-kind move, announced on Monday that it had advised the fund to make this strategic investment.
Intrigued to know what prompted this bold step? Read on!
According to Cartwright, Bitcoin’s potential as a long-term growth asset made it an ideal choice, especially given its nearly 100,000% price increase since 2013. This step marks a significant shift towards embracing digital assets for a traditionally cautious industry.
Sam Roberts, Cartwright’s director of investment consulting, described the decision as “bold” and “strategic,” emphasizing Bitcoin’s strong growth record as an appealing option for pension funds with long-term investment goals.
“This could be a game-changer,” he said, drawing parallels between today’s Bitcoin adoption and the 1970s when pension funds first began diversifying into stocks—a once-unconventional choice that has since become standard.
This allocation is notably ambitious: at 3% of its portfolio, it is 30 times higher than the Bitcoin allocation made by the Wisconsin Pension Fund and the largest percentage held by any sovereign or institutional fund worldwide. Such a high allocation reflects the fund’s confidence in Bitcoin’s future growth.
This UK pension fund’s Bitcoin allocation mirrors a rising trend in the United States, where institutional interest in crypto assets has been accelerating, especially since January’s approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs. These ETFs, offered by big names like BlackRock and Fidelity, allow investors to gain Bitcoin exposure without directly holding it.
Together, these funds have acquired over 1 million Bitcoin, a stake worth around $67 billion at today’s prices. The U.S. trend has prompted institutions worldwide to pay closer attention to digital assets, making the UK’s foray into Bitcoin less surprising.
Cartwright hopes this move will inspire other UK pension funds to consider Bitcoin and other digital assets, especially as regulatory guidelines become clearer. Roberts believes that as Bitcoin’s reputation as a valuable portfolio asset grows, more institutional investors will follow suit.
This could ignite a broader trend, marking the beginning of a gradual but significant shift in how UK pensions approach investment in digital assets.
Could this signal a new trend in retirement investments? We will come to know.
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