Morgan Stanley opens crypto asset fund investments to all clients…"Full expansion including retirement accounts"

Minseung Kang

Summary

Morgan Stanley said it is expanding crypto asset fund investments, which were previously limited to high-net-worth clients, to all clients.
As a result, crypto investment products are expected to become available across all account types, including retirement accounts.
Advisors can currently offer only Bitcoin funds from BlackRock and Fidelity, and the firm said it will consider adding other crypto asset products in the future.

U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley (Morgan Stanley) is expanding crypto asset (cryptocurrency) fund investments, which were previously allowed only for some high-net-worth clients, to all clients. Investments in crypto-related products are expected to become available across all account types, including retirement accounts.

According to U.S. financial media CNBC on the 10th (local time), Morgan Stanley said in an internal notice that, starting on the 15th, its financial advisors will be allowed to offer crypto asset fund products to all clients. Previously, only some clients with at least $1.5 million (about KRW 2.1 billion) in assets and classified as having an "aggressive risk tolerance" were eligible to invest in crypto products.

The move is seen as a response to the U.S. government's increasingly crypto-friendly stance. Earlier, Morgan Stanley also announced last month that it plans to offer trading services for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) through its subsidiary E-Trade (E-Trade).

Morgan Stanley will also introduce an automated monitoring system to prevent customers from concentrating their investments in crypto assets. In a recent report, the internal Global Investment Committee said, "Crypto assets are speculative but becoming increasingly mainstream," and recommended that, depending on investment objectives, crypto assets can make up to 4% of an overall portfolio.

To date, advisors have only been able to offer clients Bitcoin funds run by BlackRock and Fidelity. However, Morgan Stanley said it will consider adding other crypto asset products such as Ethereum in the future, depending on industry developments.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley manages about $8.2 trillion (about KRW 11.4 quadrillion) in client assets and is considered one of the world's largest asset managers. Industry observers say the move could be a "symbolic turning point" that lowers barriers to crypto access within traditional finance.