JPMorgan Chase launched a passively managed in-house bitcoin fund on Wednesday, which it began marketing to rich customers this week.
According to CoinDesk, which cited two sources familiar with the situation, the bank is pushing the passively managed crypto fund to its private bank clients, although it has yet to attract any investment.
According to the story, the fund was introduced on a call with advisors on Wednesday in cooperation with bitcoin-focused financial services provider NYDIG.
In April, it was revealed that the Wall Street bank was working on a bitcoin fund for wealth management clients.
According to the CoinDesk story, the fund will be actively managed, as opposed to Pantera Capital’s, Galaxy Digital’s, and other passive crypto funds. Rather than using money managers to actively decide allocations, these simply track crypto market indices.
In May, the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, issued a warning to investors about investing in crypto assets, claiming that they were inferior to traditional assets. He has already stated that he believes bitcoin is risky and deceptive.
However, Mary Callahan Erdoes, the CEO of JPMorgan’s asset and wealth management business, told Bloomberg in June that her clients were interested in cryptocurrency and recognized bitcoin as an asset class.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. became the first big bank to allow its retail wealth management clients to invest in cryptocurrency in July. Customers do not need to be in direct communication with the firm’s advisors to invest in the products; anyone can do so, from ultra-wealthy private-bank clients to Chase’s trading app users.
Over the last year, other banks have begun to offer crypto products, including Morgan Stanley, which in March allowed wealth management customers access to crypto funds, and Bank of America, which was rumoured last month to be introducing crypto exchange-traded products to wealthy investors.
Not every major financial institution has embraced cryptocurrency. In July, UBS CEO Ralph Hamers revealed that the bank does not actively market crypto products, but added that he is unconcerned about losing or missing out on clients as a result.