The new CEO of US investment giant Vanguard said he will not reverse the company’s decision not to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) spot trading fund.
Vanguard’s new CEO Salim Ramji — the former head of BlackRock’s global ETF business — told Barron’s in an interview published on May 15 that Vanguard stands for consistency and that cryptocurrency-related investment products do not align with its “investment philosophy.”
“I think it’s important for companies to have consistency in terms of what they stand for and the products and services they offer,” Ramji said.
“I heard (chief investment officer) Greg Davis’ explanation and I think it aligns perfectly with Vanguard’s investment philosophy. “It is a logical and consistent point of view.”
Ramji oversaw the January launch of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which has amassed $18 billion in assets under management.
He has publicly expressed interest in cryptocurrencies, and his move to Vanguard has industry watchers speculating about the changes he will make at the company.
Along with the launch of BlackRock’s ETF, its competitors including Fidelity and nine other investment managers also launched Bitcoin spot funds which together saw more than $12 billion in net inflows.
Vanguard, which has $8.6 trillion in assets under management, chose a different approach and did not launch a Bitcoin ETF — viewing cryptocurrencies as a speculative investment and an immature asset class.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyphart said in a May 15 post that he does not believe Ramji will start a Bitcoin ETF on Vanguard.
However, Seyfart said Ramji may reverse the company’s position of not allowing its clients to buy Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on its brokerage platform.
Tim Buckley, Vanguard’s outgoing CEO, said in March that he did not believe a bitcoin ETF belonged in the long-term portfolio of someone saving for their retirement because it is a speculative asset.
His comments followed pressure from clients following the launch of Bitcoin ETFs from rival firms.
Related: JPMorgan reported that it owns shares in several bitcoin ETFs
In January, a number of Vanguard clients threatened to close their accounts because the company blocked access to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Meanwhile, Vanguard has indirect exposure to Bitcoin through its stake in MicroStrategy – where it is the second-largest institutional shareholder.
Rival investment firms are celebrating again as flows turn positive following Bitcoin’s 7% move to reclaim $66,000 on May 16.
Net inflows on May 15 across all U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs were more than $300 million — excluding BlackRock’s IBIT for which results have not yet been announced, according to Farside Investors’ preliminary data.
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