Morgan Stanley's offices in the Canary Wharf financial district on January 30, 2025 in London, UK.
Mike Kemp | In images | Getty Images
Morgan Stanley told its financial advisors on Friday that the company was expanding access to crypto investments to all customers and allowing such investments in any type of account, including retirement accounts, CNBC has learned.
From October 15, advisors can pitch crypto funds to any client. Previously, the option was limited to people with an aggressive risk tolerance and at least $1.5 million in assets who wanted to hold crypto in a taxable brokerage account.
The move marks the latest expansion of access to crypto at the world's largest asset management firm after the U.S. government's stance on the emerging asset class shifted with the election of President Donald Trump. Last month, Morgan Stanley said it would soon enable trading of bitcoin, ether and solana at its E-Trade subsidiary.
Over the past two decades, Morgan Stanley has become a major player in the industry, amassing $8.2 trillion in client assets through its asset and investment management businesses. In recent years, the bank has repeatedly shown that it is keen to defend its position amid the rise of platforms, among other things Coin base And Robinhood.
As Morgan Stanley drops eligibility requirements for crypto funds, it will rely on an automated monitoring process to ensure clients are not overly concentrated in the volatile asset class, said people familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified speaking about internal policies.
The bank's global investment committee recently released a model that recommends a maximum initial allocation to crypto of up to 4%, depending on objectives ranging from “wealth preservation” to “opportunistic growth.”
The committee “views cryptocurrency as a speculative and increasingly popular asset class that many investors, but not all, will seek to explore,” Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer for wealth management at the firm, said in the Oct. 1 report.
As of now, advisors are still limited to pitching bitcoin funds BlackRock and Fidelity, but Morgan Stanley is watching the industry for potential additions to those offerings, including other types of crypto, according to people familiar.
Customers can request to be placed in a crypto-listed product, she added.
