While institutional Bitcoin investments have gained momentum recently, Australian financial firm AMP announced that it purchased $27 million worth of BTC.
According to the Financial Review, Australian company AMP, which manages $56 billion, announced that it purchased $27 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) through its pension fund.
AMP has become the first major Australian superannuation fund to invest in BTC, despite major fund managers in the $4 trillion superannuation savings sector previously rejecting Bitcoin investments due to its volatility.
AMP senior portfolio manager Steve Flegg said in a statement that Bitcoin has grown so much that its potential is now too great to ignore.
Stuart Eliot, Head of AMP Portfolio Management, said:
“The company decided to add a small, risk-controlled position in digital assets under its Dynamic Asset Allocation program earlier this year after careful consideration and testing by our investment team and committee.
“We have decided to allocate approximately 0.05% of our total retirement assets under management for Bitcoin allocation.”
Following this decision, other major Australian funds stated that they do not plan to invest in BTC or other cryptocurrencies.
This decision was not surprising as Central Bank Governor Michele Bullock had previously stated that Bitcoin had no place in the Australian economy and that it had no place in retirement portfolios because it did not provide returns.
*This is not investment advice.
