Cetera provides bitcoin ETF clarity with policy for advisors

The broker-dealer moves to the forefront with education, training, and resources in ‘prudent embrace’ of innovative products.

Advisors affiliated with Cetera now have more clarity on how to deal with bitcoin ETFs. The independent broker-dealer has launched a groundbreaking initiative to integrate bitcoin ETFs into its suite of offerings for financial professionals.

The newly unveiled policy provides a structured approach for the inclusion of bitcoin ETFs in client portfolios, emphasizing a strategic and informed method to cryptocurrency investment within brokerage accounts.

The initiative includes comprehensive education, training, and resources for financial professionals within Cetera’s network who are interested in diversifying clients’ investment portfolios with bitcoin ETFs.

With this latest move, Cetera is positioning itself as one of the first wealth firms to formalize a bitcoin ETF policy for advisors in its enterprise, giving them the chance to strategically grow their business and serve their clients’ best interests amid burgeoning demand for cryptocurrency investments.

“As expected, we are prudently embracing bitcoin ETFs and we prioritized developing this important guidance to help our financial professionals implement these products in client portfolios,” Matt Fries, Cetera’s head of investment products and partner solutions, said in a statement.

“We will continue to proactively evaluate the implications of bitcoin ETFs and related products and modify our policies accordingly, and we look forward to partnering with our financial professionals to adopt bitcoin ETFs when appropriate with their clients,” he said.

Bitcoin ETFs have been an object of curiosity and conversation for the industry since the SEC green-lighted the first spot bitcoin ETF products in the US in January.

In the wake of that decision, firms have entered the space at varying speeds. For Cetera, the announcement sparked a “[scramble] to figure out spot-bitcoin ETFs,” Fries told attendees at the Financial Services Institute’s annual OneVoice conference in late January.

“That wasn’t something that was on my mind a month ago, but now I’m writing a policy on how we’re going to handle these,” he said at the time.

Starting March 25, Cetera will offer specialized training for financial professionals through its AdviceWorks portal, aiming to ensure that advisors are well-prepared to guide clients through the intricacies of investing in bitcoin ETFs.

Cetera has approved a handful of spot bitcoin ETFs for inclusion in client portfolios, including the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).

Around 50 million individuals owned bitcoin as of February, according to a tally of unique addresses with a non-zero balance in the mainstay cryptocurrency, marking a significant increase from the previous year.

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