Morgan Stanley will expand its Bitcoin ETF offerings to brokers, incorporating strict risk assessments and trading caps to ensure client safety.
Morgan Stanley is preparing to significantly expand its Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offerings. The financial giant is set to allow its approximately 15,000 brokers to proactively recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients. This move could dramatically widen consumer access and boost the demand for these digital asset funds.
Previously, Morgan Stanley limited its Bitcoin ETF dealings to unsolicited transactions, requiring clients to initiate conversations with their advisors. Now, the firm is shifting to an active solicitation model with stringent safeguards, including risk tolerance assessments and trading caps.
“We’re going to make sure we’re very careful about it. We are going to make sure everybody has access to it. We just want to do it in a controlled way,” said a Morgan Stanley executive.
Despite the excitement around Bitcoin, Morgan Stanley remains cautious, reflecting a broader hesitation in the financial sector to fully embrace cryptocurrencies. Other financial institutions like Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo also restrict access to Bitcoin ETFs primarily to ultra-wealthy clients.
