Bank of America, one of the country’s largest financial institutions, becomes the latest Wall Street giant to get enthusiastic about Bitcoin .
According to Yahoo Finance, starting in January, the bank’s wealth management advisors will be allowed to recommend a 1%-4% allocation to crypto assets. Initially, the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch crowd will focus on four spot Bitcoin ETFs – BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB and Grayscale’s BTC.
This is a significant change for the bank, which previously allowed its clients to invest as they wished but did not allow its advisors to recommend cryptocurrency exposure.
The news comes just hours after asset management giant Vanguard changed its long-standing policy and will now allow its clients to buy cryptocurrency ETFs. The move also aligns Bank of America with the wealth management platforms of other major institutions such as BlackRock and Morgan Stanley.
The action could also increase pressure on a dwindling group of resisters, which includes Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and UBS.
Chris Hyzy, chief investment officer at Bank of America Private Bank, said in a statement: “For investors with a strong interest in thematic innovation and can adapt to rising volatility, a modest allocation to digital assets of 1% to 4% may be appropriate.” Hyzy added: “The lower end of this range may be more suitable for investors with conservative risk appetite, while the upper end may be suitable for investors with a greater tolerance for overall portfolio risk.”
