Grizzle reposted this
Blackrock recommending 1-2% in Bitcoin for a portfolio weight. What are they recommending for gold? 🤔 If they aren’t we have to ask why? $IBIT has $54B in assets and charges 0.22% fee - it’s the largest #bitcoin ETF, the second largest less than half the size at $20B $GBTC. Blackrock’s gold ETF $IAU has $34B in assets and charges 25bps. It’s the second largest, half the size of the largest $GLD ($74B and charging 40bps). The cynical view is that this is a power play on Blackrock’s part, $IAU (their #gold ETF) has been in structural decline since 2020 (-25% shares outstanding) even with half the fees of $GLD. They DO NOT have a financial incentive to push a portfolio gold allocation target for clients. They DO however have all the incentive to push Bitcoin because they’re the largest in the space and would want to continue to grow the AUM lead. Being the largest ETF in a category is everything, where the volume is = lowest bid/ask spread, this incentivizes advisors to put them in that product - as it meets their fiduciary obligation (low fees), and it’s the big known product (no career risk). The biggest ETF player has ALL the financial incentive to push a Bitcoin as a store of wealth over gold.
Things like this make me think that banks will do the largest rug pull of bitcoin to profit off the fomo from everyone else. If they're not recommending precious metals like they were in 2018, then they're up to something. One of these days, BTC won't be able to sustain its "value," and yes I'm a pro crypto advocate. Just not the way some people are.
Never waste a good crisis!
5dMakes sense Thomas George, CFA