Carlson Group adds 4 Bitcoin ETFs to financial advisers

Financial services firm the Carlson Group has reportedly added four of the 10 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its offerings for registered investment advisers (RIAs).

The $30 billion investment firm prioritized asset growth, trading volume and low fees in selecting funds from BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise and Franklin Templeton, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 23.

A total of $6.6 billion has been invested in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) since it debuted on Jan. 11, while Fidelity has seen $4.8 billion inflows to its Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) have the lowest fees among issuers, charging 0.2% and 0.19% respectively.

“Bitwise and Franklin Templeton have committed to being the lowest-cost providers in the space, and have also seen large inflows and trading volumes. Both firms also have established in-house digital asset research teams and expertise that we feel are beneficial to the continuing growth and management of the products, as well as adviser research and education,” said Bloomberg’s vice president and investment strategist Grant Engelbart.

Bitcoin ETF Flow – 24 Feb 2024

All data now in, except perhaps for the Galaxy/Invesco product

Friday was a strong day, with +$232.3m of net inflow. Also, the outflow for GBTC was just $44m, lowest level since 11th Jan pic.twitter.com/1Q0OtjEJLt

— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) February 24, 2024

Related: Bitcoin ETF inflows recover as BTC price nears key $50K support

Financial adviser platforms are crucial to introducing crypto products to new audiences, and large trading firms such as LPL Financial Holdings are examining recently approved Bitcoin ETFs. The funds will be available to over 19,000 independent financial advisers overseeing $1.4 trillion in assets if approved. The ETFs are already available for financial advisers at Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, due diligence from trading platforms may delay the Bitcoin fund’s adoption. “A lot of the big institutions, these warehouses, these platforms where brokers or advisers work, they can’t just buy anything they want. There’s like an approved list and a not approved list,” the analyst explained.

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