Australian Pension Fund Reveals Rare Wager on Bitcoin Futures

(Bloomberg) — Australian pension and wealth firm AMP Ltd. has become one of the nation’s first large retirement managers to invest in cryptocurrency products, allocating about A$27 million ($17.2 million) to Bitcoin futures. 

The fund “took the plunge and made a modest allocation to bitcoin” earlier this year, AMP Senior Portfolio Manager Steve Flegg said in a LinkedIn post this week. A spokesperson for AMP said the investment was in Bitcoin futures, adding that there are no plans to increase the allocation.  

Bitcoin last week passed $100,000 for the first time and has gained more than 40% since Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential election in November. Trump is avowedly pro-crypto and has pledged to foster a supportive environment for digital-asset firms in the US. 

Australia’s A$4.1 trillion pension system has shown little enthusiasm for investing in crypto to date. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock recently said Bitcoin has no role in the Australian economy, while the prudential regulator previously warned “robust risk management controls” must be used when engaging in activities involving digital assets.    

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Australia’s fast-growing pension sector has been under intense scrutiny over a range of issues, including valuations in unlisted markets, customer service and investment fees. The industry is subject to an annual performance test designed to weed out underperforming retirement products. Dozens of pension products offered by AMP failed the test earlier this year, with the bulk of them failing for a second straight year.

The Bitcoin futures investment recognizes “structural changes” in the digital-assets industry over the past year, including the launch of exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin and Ether by leading investment managers, AMP’s Chief Investment Officer Anna Shelley said in emailed comments.

“Following testing and careful consideration by our investment team and committee, we included a small and risk-controlled position in digital assets through our Dynamic Asset Allocation program in May,” she said, adding that the exposure represents about 0.05% of its total pension assets. 

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority declined to comment on AMP’s investment in Bitcoin futures, instead referring Bloomberg to a 2022 letter to the financial sector.  

“While our super members have benefited from the exposure, we fully appreciate the risk and volatility characteristics of this emerging asset class and will continue to carefully manage our holding, which is a fractional component of a highly diversified asset mix,” Shelley said. 

–With assistance from Richard Henderson.

(Updates with Shelley comments. An earlier version of this story was corrected to reflect exposure of 0.05%, not 0.5%)

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