Australian superannuation fund AMP Super, Sydney, is investing in digital assets after “testing and careful consideration,” CIO Anna Shelley confirmed.
The “small and risk-controlled position” represents about 0.05% of AMP’s total A$54 billion ($34.5 billion) in assets, equating to about A$27 million. The investment is in bitcoin futures, Bloomberg reported.
The investment was made in May, following testing and consideration by the investment team and committee. The position was taken through the fund’s dynamic asset allocation program, and is included in the default option, a spokesperson confirmed.
The move “recognizes the structural changes in the industry over the past year, including the launch of exchange-traded funds by leading international investment managers,” Shelley said in an emailed comment. “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.”
Digital assets include bitcoin, which is trading around the $100,000 mark.
Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and economics and chief economist addressed bitcoin’s rise in a blog published on AMP Super provider AMP’s website in March.
He concluded that “the key for investors is recognize that: it’s highly volatile; very speculative; a poor diversifier; and there’s no free lunch.”
