As bitcoin continues to gain in value, wealth managers are finding themselves being questioned about the asset and whether they should invest in it.
One such company that is experiencing this is Cumberland Advisors, based in Sarasota, Florida. In an interview with Bloomberg, David Kotok, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Cumberland Advisors, said that clients are frequently asking them about the digital currency.
They think it’s cool. It has the newness, which is attractive to some people, though others would say newness is a risk they don’t want to take.
It’s not just Cumberland Advisors, though, that is seeing a rising number of clients approaching them regarding bitcoin. All across the U.S. wealth managers are being questioned. Yet, while some are offering tips to clients on how to get involved with it, Kotok’s company is advising potential investors away from it.
Others, however, such as Kevin Grimes, president of Westborough, Massachusetts-based financial investment company Grimes & Co. is of the opinion that ignoring the cryptocurrency market would be a mistake.
Grimes added:
Bitcoin could go to zero and be a scam, and it could go up to numbers no one has conceived of yet.
Sam Boyd, senior vice president at Capital Asset Management Group, thinks that those who invest in bitcoin should do so in small amounts, adding:
You don’t want more than 5 percent in alternative investments of any kind.
This news comes at a time when bitcoin is experiencing record all-time highs. Just yesterday it was reported that the digital currency had scaled to $8,315 for the first time, with market analysts expecting the cryptocurrency to produce new rallies in the short-term.
Such is the confidence that many have as to where bitcoin is heading that several have predicted where they think its value will rise to. Billionaire trader and hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz is of the opinion that bitcoin will rise to $10,000 before the end of 2017. In October, Novogratz said that the Wall Street ‘herd‘ will carry the bitcoin price to $10,000 within six to 10 months.
Ronnie Moas, founder of Standpoint Research, is also confident in the digital currency. According to him, it will rise to $14,000 in 2018. He previously said that it would rise to $11,000; however, amid increasing interest from Wall Street and promising developments in the market, Moas revised his price target.
Novogratz, who has created Galaxy Investment Partners, a $500 million crypto-hedge fund that will invest in the blockchain space, has said that investors have been ‘receptive’ of it.