Morgan Stanley is giving a handful of its mutual funds the ability to invest indirectly in bitcoin through cash-settled futures contracts and Grayscale’s bitcoin trust.
According to Thursday regulatory filings, ‘’certain funds” now have the go-ahead to seek “exposure to bitcoin indirectly.” The initial rollout features five Morgan Stanley fund families: Institutional Fund, Institutional Fund Trust, Europe Opportunity Fund, Insight Fund and Variable Insurance Fund.
Each fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in bitcoin, the filings state. It was not clear at press time if any had begun. Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
The green-light underscores Morgan Stanley’s increasing interest in bitcoin as an asset class even if, for now, it is keeping the crypto at arm’s length through indirect exposure. Last month, it debuted bitcoin investment fund products but only for high-net-worth clients.
Even yesterday the megabank put out its first hiring call for a cryptocurrency and blockchain lead analyst.
Grayscale is owned by CoinDesk parent company Digital Currency Group.
UPDATE (April 1, 16:40 UTC): Adds no comment from Morgan Stanley.