A recent survey by the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, in partnership with Franklin Templeton Digital Assets, indicates a notable shift in financial advisors' attitudes towards cryptocurrencies.
The survey, conducted in March, shows more than a third of advisors (35 percent) now plan to recommend digital assets within the next six months, representing a 70 percent increase from a December poll DACFP and Franklin Templeton did.
Their latest survey polled 272 financial advisors, with the majority, 71 percent, from independent registered investment advisor (RIA) firms. An additional 19 percent of the respondents are affiliated with regional or independent brokerage firms, two percent come from wirehouses, and eight percent work for other types of financial services entities, such as trust companies and family offices.
Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, who was also the driving force behind the inception of Edelman Financial Engines, pointed to recent market developments as key drivers for this trend.
"The availability of new spot bitcoin ETFs, combined with a roughly 50 percent increase in bitcoin's price so far this year, is spurring advisors to get more involved with crypto than ever," Edelman said in a statement.
“Anecdotal evidence suggests this is attributed to firms issuing new guidance to advisors during their due diligence process of evaluating the new spot bitcoin ETFs,” the report based on the March survey added.
Among advisors considering digital assets, most recommend a modest allocation, generally suggesting clients invest one to five percent of their total assets in cryptocurrencies. That includes 31 percent of advisors who say they’d suggest a two percent allocation.
"Advisors increasingly express interest in allocating towards digital assets as a means of better diversifying their clients' portfolios and capturing the investment opportunity represented by the growing protocol-based network economy," said Sandy Kaul, head of digital asset and industry advisory services at Franklin Templeton.
It should be noted that nearly three-quarters of advisors in the poll work cater to an upper-crust clientele with at least half a million dollars in assets, including two-thirds (65 percent) whose clients fall between the $500,000 and $3.5 million asset marks.
Overall, thirty percent of the advisors in the March poll manage more than $100 million.
The survey also highlighted a surge in educational engagement among advisors, with a significant increase in enrollments in the Certified in Blockchain and Digital Assets program offered by the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.
This program is part of a broader initiative to provide ongoing education through the online DACFP Learning Center, equipping financial professionals to adeptly navigate the digital assets landscape.
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