Critics of the retirement plan say this amounts to gambling rather than investing.
A New Zealand retirement plan has reportedly allocated 5% of its assets to Bitcoin.
Speaking to Stuff, a local news site, KiwiSaver’s chief investment officer James Grigor anticipated that it could make an appearance in more schemes in future. He argued:
“If you are happy to invest in gold, you can’t really discount Bitcoin.”
Some of the company’s rivals have reportedly taken a dim view of the move — describing the decision as more of a gamble than an investment.
But given how KiwiSaver ended up gaining exposure to Bitcoin when it was worth $10,000 back in October — with prices recently surging above $60,000 — it could be argued that the investment fund has been vindicated in its decision…. So far.
The company stressed that it wasn’t intending to hold on to the asset through thick and thin, and said it would sell up its stake “if we think the momentum has gone” so it can move on to an alternative asset class.
A New Trend?
Although there appears to be growing interest from pension funds in Bitcoin, it’s fair to say that opinion is extremely divided on the cryptocurrency.
Some financial experts fear that the asset is far too volatile — and worry about the impact that a crash could have on people who are saving to secure their future.
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