Financial advisor Ric Edelman, the founder of Edelman Financial Services that has $22 billion in assets under management, has invested in cryptocurrency indexer Bitwise Asset Management.
Bitwise Co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley told WealthManagement.com Edelman is “heavily” invested in both the asset management business and its fund, and will educate and support financial advisors interested in exposure to the new asset class in client portfolios. Bitwise recently surveyed more than 450 financial advisors and found that 83 percent had received questions from clients about cryptoassets.
“There is a technological and financial revolution taking place right now with cryptocurrency that has far-reaching implications,” Edelman said in a statement about his investment. “Every financial advisor needs to educate themselves about this space, and most should be considering an allocation for clients. I look forward to working with Bitwise to help make that a reality.”
Horsley said the asset manager has been in touch with Edelman since early 2018 regarding his involvement with the firm. He will also serve as an advisor to Bitwise.
Edelman is the latest big name in wealth or asset management to affiliate with Bitwise.
In August, Mark Yusko’s investment firm partnered with Bitwise to create a new cryptocurrency index fund intended for institutional investors clamoring for exposure to the new asset class. The new Digital Asset Index Fund will be offered through Morgan Creek Digital, an asset management firm backed by the multibillion-dollar investment advisor Morgan Creek Capital Management, which Yusko founded in 2004.
Ron Carson, another prominent advisor and the founder and CEO of Carson Group, has also made investments in the new asset class. Carson said in February that, along with other technology companies, he has invested in a private fund called Crypto Lotus, which planned to make angel investments in cryptocurrencies and blockchain companies.
“By having investments in these companies, it gives us a front row seat for what they’re working on, what they’re doing, what the competitive landscape looks like, and is there another partner that we should consider bringing into the fold,” Carson said. “It gives me direct access to the thought leaders that are running these organizations. So there’s a strategy beyond the investment.”
Carson Group's 83 partner firms managed an aggregate of $6.1 billion at the end of the second quarter.