In a video that Vanguard put out, Buckley reiterated his position, stating that the volatility character of Bitcoin makes it unsuitable for inclusion in retirement investing portfolios that include Bitcoin ETFs.
Despite consumer pushback and persistent questions over the business’s prospective intentions for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Tim Buckley, CEO of The Vanguard Group, maintains a hard stance against their introduction.
In a video that Vanguard put out, Buckley reaffirmed his position, stating that the volatility character of Bitcoin makes it unsuitable for inclusion in retirement investing portfolios that include Bitcoin ETFs.
“We don’t feel it belongs,” he said, “as a Bitcoin ETF belongs” to a retirement portfolio’s long-term holdings. That asset is purely speculative.
While arguing that Bitcoin is not a reliable store of wealth, Buckley used the cryptocurrency’s performance during the stock market crash of 2022 as evidence.
Bitcoin fell exactly along with the stock market during the latest crisis. This makes it an opinion post. “It’s very difficult to consider its place in a portfolio for the long run,” he said.
When the S&P 500 fell 21% in the first half of 2022, mostly due to interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, Bitcoin’s value dropped to under $16,000, despite the fact that it had previously reached new heights, with a record value of $73,835 after previously peaking at over $69,000.
According to Buckley, Vanguard would not alter its mind about providing spot Bitcoin ETFs to its clients until the asset class undergoes a fundamental change.
Following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10, Vanguard swiftly announced its intention to refrain from marketing Bitcoin ETFs or other crypto-related products via Cointelegraph on January 12, immediately following this resolve.
Even with this unwavering position, certain Vanguard clients, particularly those in the cryptocurrency industry, have voiced their dissatisfaction.
Notably, Yuga Cohler, a senior engineering manager at Coinbase, said that Vanguard’s “paternalistic barring of Bitcoin ETFs” was at odds with his investing philosophy; thus, he declared that he would be moving his Roth 401(k) funds to Fidelity.
According to a report by Cointelegraph on January 12, Vanguard is the second-largest institutional investor in MicroStrategy, with an 8.24% investment. This gives them a lot of exposure to Bitcoin, albeit indirectly.
