Dominic Lawson

Bitcoin exchange traded funds have grabbed the headlines in the US this year, attracting strong investor interest and — for a time — helping to drive the price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency to record highs. Since January, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved “spot” bitcoin ETFs — which hold the actual currency, rather than futures contracts on it — 11 have been launched by firms including BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, and VanEck. And they have already amassed…

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European bitcoin exchange traded products have suffered outflows every month this year, despite providers’ hopes being raised following the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the US. Bitcoin ETPs domiciled in Europe have bled $506mn since the start of this year, while other crypto ETPs attracted small net inflows of $42mn, Morningstar data shows. The price of bitcoin rose by approximately 40 per cent over this period. The findings come as crypto product providers seek to capitalise on institutio…

Ireland’s financial regulator is planning to review its rules on portfolio transparency for exchange traded funds, according to lawyers. The Central Bank of Ireland, which regulates Europe’s largest domicile of ETF assets, requires the products to disclose their full portfolio holdings daily, but this is seen by many as a barrier to the growth of active ETF investment strategies. However, Hazel Doyle, partner at K&L Gates, said the CBI has told members of the Irish asset management trade body…

Germany’s Baader Bank is entering the exchange traded fund market with a strategy that will use artificial intelligence to aid stock selection. The investment management arm of Baader plans to launch an “AI-enhanced” eurozone equities ETF that will trade on the Xetra exchange in Frankfurt, according to the fund’s supplement. The Ireland-domiciled ETF will use “a holistic AI-driven stock selection model” to generate returns in excess of a eurozone equity index developed by MSCI. The model has…

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