Raiz launches new Bitcoin investment portfolio
Raiz Invest, Australia’s leading micro-investing app, will offer investors exposure to Bitcoin with the launch of its seventh investment portfolio that will have a five per cent target allocation to this alternative asset class.
The new portfolio, called Sapphire, has taken 18 months to develop, and has been specifically designed to meet growing customer appetite for exposure to the alternative asset class of cryptocurrency. Aside from Bitcoin, the remaining 95% of the portfolio will comprise US, Australian, European, and Asian large-cap stocks, as well as the Australian corporate debt and money markets, all via exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Raiz CEO George Lucas said, “Although this latest portfolio offering from Raiz is very high risk, feedback from many customers has clearly shown that they have an appetite for an investment strategy that has an exposure to cryptocurrencies, and the Sapphire portfolio has been designed with this in mind.
“The investment objective of the Sapphire portfolio is to provide exposure to Bitcoin in a managed, risk-adjusted way. The minimum suggested investment timeframe is more than five years.
“Many of our investors are Millennials, who have time on their side when adopting an investment choice such as the Sapphire portfolio for the long term.
“A December 2019 report by the US stockbroker Charles Schwab revealed that while stalwart companies ranked among the top investment picks for Baby Boomers and Generation Z, Millennials were more inclined to put money into crypto assets,” he said.
Financial advisers are showing an increasing interest in Bitcoin for their clients’ portfolios, according to some recent overseas surveys, although only a small number of financial advisers recommend it. With governments printing more money globally due to the COVID-19 crisis, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin may play a more important role in a client’s portfolio in the future.
Since launching its first investment portfolios in 2016, Raiz has embarked on a deliberate strategy to listen to its customers and deliver investors a selection of investment portfolios, ranging from conservative to aggressive.
The Emerald portfolio was launched in 2017 to cater for investors wanting their investments to be socially, ethically, and environmentally responsible, again based on customer feedback.
Lucas said, “The Sapphire portfolio is another example of Raiz listening to our customers and giving them choice and control over where they invest, especially as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and they want to re-examine their investment options.”
Raiz will trade and store Bitcoin with Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian founded by the Winklevoss twins. Gemini is a New York Trust company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services. It is one of the safest cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians in the world.
Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, Gemini Managing Director of Operations, said, “Raiz is advancing micro-investments via its new portfolio that provides customers an opportunity to invest in Bitcoin in a thoughtful, regulated manner. We are excited Raiz has selected Gemini as the trusted cryptocurrency exchange and custodian to support this portfolio launch and to help further the adoption of this asset class in the Australian market.”
