WOW! The french are stepping it up. First they got French bread, then French fries and now............a French mutual fund that will be Europe's first bitcoin mutual fund. Oh they can do this too. The asset manager Tobam has $9 BILLION in AUM so this 'ain't no startup'. Tobam is capitalizing on the massive interest in all things crypto and by using a mutual fund 'wrapper' the fund should really appeal to institutions. You go Tobam.
(Bill Taylor/CEO)
LONDON — French asset management firm Tobam is planning to launch Europe's first bitcoin mutual fund as interest in the cryptocurrency continues to grow.
Tobam, which had $9 billion in assets under management as of September, plans to launch an unregulated alternative investment fund that will allow institutional investors to gain exposure to bitcoin.
Bitcoin has surged over 5,000% against the dollar so far this year to reach $8,229 on Wednesday morning. Investor interest has risen alongside the price, with over 55 dedicated cryptocurrency hedge funds now in existence and exchange giant CME Group announcing plans to launch bitcoin futures contracts.
However, bitcoin's essentially unregulated nature makes it legally difficult for many institutions to invest in the cryptocurrency.
Tobam hopes the mutual fund wrapper, which pools gains and losses from investment in bitcoin, should help to add a level of sophistication that could attract traditional investors. While unregulated at a European level, Tobam's fund is approved by France's financial regulator AMF and audited by PwC, according to the Financial Times...
Full Story at Businessinsider.com