Grayscale Gives iCapital Network Advisors Access to Digital Currency

More than 6,700 iCapital Network advisors can now invest in crypto through a diversified market-cap weighted investment strategy via Grayscale.

Grayscale Investments started giving iCapital Network’s more than 6,700 network advisors serving high-net-worth clients access to digital currencies through a Grayscale diversified market-cap weighted investment strategy as part of a partnership announced by the companies on Monday.

Advisors in the iCapital network and their clients now have “seamless access” to Grayscale’s digital currency strategies, they said. This is the first time a digital currency offering will be available on the iCapital platform.

The initiative, designed to meet growing investor demand for this “burgeoning asset class,” combines iCapital’s education, technology and investment administration capabilities with Grayscale’s digital currency expertise and leadership, the firms said.

“Advisors and their clients have expressed increasing appetite for uncorrelated return potential in their portfolios, and digital currencies are at the center of the conversation right now,” according to Lawrence Calcano, iCapital Network CEO and chairman. Grayscale has the “experience to help investors navigate this dynamic asset class,” he said in a statement.

Citing data from a recent Grayscale survey, the companies said 61% of advisors had been approached for information about cryptocurrencies by clients and 79% planned to increase recommendations of cryptocurrency investments in the next year if their firm recommends them.

Grayscale had $43 billion in assets under management as of Thursday and offers 15 digital currency investment strategies, including six Securities and Exchange Commission-reporting investment products. Its regulated products enable investors to access digital assets in their investment portfolios alongside traditional investment options such as bonds, exchange-traded funds and stocks.

As of July 31, iCapital provided services to more than $80 billion in global client assets across more than 780 funds, according to the company.

“The digital currency landscape is complex and ever-evolving, which can make it difficult for advisors and their clients to determine the most appropriate methods to access the asset class,” according to Hugh Ross, Grayscale chief operating office.

The digital currency investment strategy that his company is offering via the pact with iCapital is “differentiated by [Grayscale’s] transparency as an SEC reporting company,” he said in a statement. “In a world with trillions of dollars of fiscal stimulus and negative real interest rates, the wealth management industry is recognizing the diversification benefits and inflation hedge potential that digital currencies can offer in an investment portfolio.”

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