Morgan Stanley recommends 4% virtual asset allocation in portfolios

The U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley recommended limiting the share of virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) in clients' asset portfolios to a maximum of 4%. This is similar to the cryptocurrency investment guidelines proposed by major Wall Street asset managers such as BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity.

According to CoinDesk on the 6th (local time), Morgan Stanley's Global Investment Committee said in a recently released report that "virtual assets are speculative but growing in popularity" and that "they can be included up to a maximum of 4% in opportunistic growth portfolios." It also emphasized that "cryptocurrencies involve high volatility and crash risk, so regular rebalancing is necessary when investing."

Conversely, it advised that conservative or dividend-focused investors should avoid cryptocurrency investments.

This guideline aligns with the trend of major Wall Street financial firms beginning to recognize cryptocurrencies as a component within traditional asset portfolios. BlackRock has suggested a 1~2% weighting for Bitcoin (BTC), Grayscale has proposed 5%, and Fidelity recommends a 2~5% level of virtual asset inclusion via individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs).

Meanwhile, attitudes among financial firms that were skeptical about cryptocurrency investing are gradually easing. Schwab has not issued an official share guideline for crypto trading but offers cryptocurrency ETFs and plans to launch spot Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) trading services in 2026.

Vanguard, which had been the most hardline against cryptocurrencies, has also shown signs of softening its stance recently. It has long blocked spot Bitcoin ETF trading as "cryptocurrencies are immature assets," but it is reported to be internally reviewing allowing cryptocurrency ETF trading. The new CEO, Salim Ramji, who is from BlackRock, is regarded as more open to digital assets than his predecessors.