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An increasing number of institutions have decided to enter into cryptocurrency this year as investors are starting to consider crypto assets as a hedge against coronavirus pandemic-induced inflation. Recently, an Australian investment management firm revealed that it has started investing in Bitcoin (BTC) due to demand from its clientele.
Pendal Group, an Australian investment firm, revealed that it has started investing in BTC through futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Bitcoin.com reported. The company also said that its decision to enter into cryptocurrency was prompted by client demand.
“We have so many clients asking us about bitcoin and what to do and how to get access,” Vimal Gor, head of bond, income, and defensive strategies at Pendal Group. “Large institutions have stayed away so far, but high-net-worth clients and wholesale investors are leading the charge.”
The firm believes that the timing is right now that Bitcoin is going mainstream. “All the big hitters in the hedge fund world are coming out to endorse bitcoin now; it is entering the realm of the mainstream,” Gor said.
In fact, the company is now introducing Bitcoin to its clients the same way it did with gold in the past. “We have been positioning in gold for our clients for many, many years now,” the Pendal executive added, according to Coindesk. “Now we’re doing it with bitcoin.”
He also believes that Bitcoin has advantages over gold. “If Bitcoin is considered a store of value and a store value is purely a social construct,” Gor told online business channel Ausbiz in August. “Then it is better than gold as it’s transferable as you don’t need to go and physically pick up a big heavy bar and just give it to someone else.”
Bitcoin is also independent of any government, which could be an attractive feature for some investors. “Bitcoin is a cockroach that exists,” Gor explained. “They [governments] can’t ban it out of existence.”
The Pendal Group is a global investment management company with over A$100 billion or around US$73.6 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm has a market capitalization of $1.6 billion and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under the symbol PDL.
