A&G Funds, a subsidiary of the Spanish private bank has launched an actively managed cryptocurrency fund. The fund will primarily invest in other financial instruments such as exchange traded notes or products rather than directly in cryptocurrencies.
“We believe that it is an optimal solution for any professional European investor who wants to get closer to the world of cryptocurrencies, without forgetting that it is a very high risk fund,” said Diego Fernández Elices, Director General of Investments at A&G. Not only did the announcement carry a lot of caveats, but the offer document has even more.
It carries the warning by Spanish regulator CNMV that includes comments such as cryptocurrencies have “very high risks due to their extreme volatility, complexity, lack of transparency, custody risk and concentration which may result in the total loss of the investment.”
Credit Agriciole’s CACEIS is the depositary for the fund which is audited by PwC.
The disclosure document suggests that the fund is not suitable for anyone who wishes to invest for a period of less than four years.
Bitcoin and Ethereum can each constitute 35% or more of the fund, but overall at least half of the assets will have a specific exposure to crypto. Other cryptos it invests in need to have significant volumes and liquidity. It can also commit up to 50% of the fund to listed equities or public fixed income securities linked to digital assets.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, Deutsche Bank’s DWS is partnering with Galaxy Digital to issue European exchange traded products (ETP) for digital assets. In the UK Brevan Howard has a digital assets division, Brevan Howard Digital which acquired a crypto hedge fund earlier this year. And there is suspense in the United States about whether the SEC will approve a BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF.
