Bank of America Endorses Up to 4% Allocation of Wealth Management Portfolios to Crypto: Report

Bank of America, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, wants its wealth management clients to consider digital assets exposure, according to Yahoo Finance.

Starting next year, investment strategies at Bank of America’s Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, and Merrill Edge platforms will support clients who want to allocate up to 4% of their portfolios to cryptocurrencies, the outlet reported.

“For investors with a strong interest in thematic innovation and comfort with elevated volatility, a modest allocation of 1% to 4% in digital assets could be appropriate,” Chris Hyzy, Bank of America Private Bank’s chief investment officer, reportedly said in a statement.

Hyzy reportedly described “the lower end of this range” as suitable for investors with a conservative risk profile, with 4% being appropriate for those with high risk tolerances.

On Jan. 5, Bank of America’s wealth management clients will also initiate coverage of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds from Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, and BlackRock, according to Yahoo Finance. 

Bank of America did not immediately respond to a Decrypt request for comment.

Yahoo Finance reported that, historically, Bank of America’s wealth management clients were only able to access crypto-related products upon request. Previously, that left over 15,000 wealth advisors at the firm unable to make crypto-related recommendations.

The shift comes as Bitcoin’s price jumped to near $91,600 at one point Tuesday. BTC was currently up 7.6% over the past 24 hours, although the largest cryptocurrency by market value is off about 30% since hitting a record high above $126,000 in early October, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.

Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment companies, will soon begin letting people on its platform access crypto-focused ETFs and mutual funds, Bloomberg reported on Monday. A Bitcoin-friendly CEO was appointed to the world’s second-largest asset manager in May.

Last year, Fidelity suggested that people allocate between 2% and 5% to Bitcoin, with up to 7.5% being worth for young investors. Describing the asset as “unique,” the institution has explored allocations in hypothetical scenarios as early as 2020.