A $150 billion Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) investing division, which is well-known for its ability to select growth or high-potential stocks, is reportedly looking into whether it should add Bitcoin (BTC) to its investment strategy.
Counterpoint Global, a division of Morgan Stanley Investment Management that has an established record in mutual-fund rankings, is considering adding Bitcoin as a potential option for its clients, according to Bloomberg which cited sources familiar with the matter. Moving forward with investments will need approval by the company’s management and regulatory authorities.
Morgan Stanley’s affirmation would put the name of a 25-year-old Wall Street giant behind a highly volatile and nascent asset class that’s been able to gain the acceptance of the traditional financial industry (especially after the COVID outbreak). Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at well over $48,000 after briefly crashing below $4,000 back in March 2020 (when awareness of COVID became more widespread for the first time).
After grabbing the attention of prominent hedge fund managers like Alan Howard and Paul Tudor Jones, digital currencies have been able to attract even more industry giants such as Mastercard Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Recently, Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc, the world’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles, acquired $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and plans to accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment.
The review from this division might lead to Morgan Stanley deciding to stay away from Bitcoin and other crypto-assets (for now at least).
It’s worth noting that many more institutions have now gained exposure to Bitcoin and other digital assets than ever before, but there are still many organizations and government officials that are quite skeptical or not confident in Bitcoin’s ability to serve as a legitimate financial instrument.
Counterpoint Global, which is being led by Dennis Lynch, has been able to expand its business operations with a simple goal of betting on unique firms whose market value has the potential to increase considerably.
Counterpoint Global currently oversees around 19 different funds, out of which five have recorded gains of more than 100% (last year). The group’s mutual funds have regularly made the top lists during the past few years.
In 2020, the group’s high returns were supported by bets on firms that are benefiting from the changes created due to the COVID-19 outbreak, like the digital commerce boom and streaming entertainment services. Some of the group’s notable investments include Amazon.com Inc., Shopify Inc., Slack Technologies Inc., Zoom Video Communications Inc. and Moderna Inc.
The group is focused on concentrated investments and maintains stakes in around 200 firms.