Cetera Financial Group, the broker/dealer network with more than $475 billion in assets under management, has approved four Bitcoin ETFs for use among its 12,000 affiliated advisors. The firm has also put in place a formal policy around the use of ETFs in brokerage accounts, including required training available starting March 25 on the firm's AdviceWorks portal.
In January, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 proposals for spot Bitcoin ETFs, in a significant shift in the industry's relationship with cryptocurrency. ETFs have seen it more than $11 billion in revenue since inception, according to Bloomberg data.
Cetera will allow advisors to recommend Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) AND Blackrock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
“The selected funds are sponsored by leading ETF providers with a track record of successfully launching new product strategies and are well positioned with established resources, tools and know-how,” the firm said in a statement.
“We will continue to proactively evaluate the implications of Bitcoin ETFs and related products and modify our policies accordingly, and we look forward to working with our financial professionals to adopt Bitcoin ETFs when it's convenient with their clients,” said Matt Fries, head of investment products. and partner solutions at Cetera, in a statement.
slightly Other independent brokers/dealers have issued policies about using Bitcoin ETF. Cambridge Investment Research, for example, is restricting its 3,800 advisers from buying funds until they go through a training program designed by the firm.
Geneos Wealth Management, a hybrid broker/dealer and RIA with $10 billion in assets, has approved three Bitcoin ETFs for use on its platform, including Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC)IBIT and ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which invests in the future of Bitcoin. To invest in ETFs, Geneos advisors must take a continuing education course on the new products, and they must sign documentation indicating that they read the prospectuses.
When ETFs were first approved, Commonwealth Financial Network was not allowing its more than 2,100 advisers to recommend them, nor to add them discretionarily to clients' portfolios, according to a source close to IBD, who declined to be named. Advisors were limited to accepting only unsolicited orders for products.
LPL Financial said GBTC is currently the only Bitcoin ETF approved for use at the country's largest IBD, with around 22,000 advisers. The firm won't make the new ETFs available immediately, but is looking to do so later, with due diligence in place, said Kate Winters, senior vice president of wealth management services.
The firm's advisors must complete required training and meet additional account-level requirements to place orders. After meeting these requirements, advisors are permitted to request purchases in brokerage and advisory accounts, and they are permitted to exercise discretion with the ETFs available in advisory accounts.
In January, Axtella, which has 716 advisers and more than $22 billion in assets under management, said it was not allowing the products on the platform. However, the firm was set to consider at an upcoming product committee meeting whether advisers will be allowed to make unsolicited trades on behalf of clients in the future.
Last month, Carson Group, an Omaha, Neb.-based RIA that has $30 billion on its platform, said approved only four of the new Bitcoin ETFsaccording to Bloomberg.