Jupiter’s Compliance Team Blocks Investment in Crypto ETP: Report

Jupiter Asset Management’s Compliance Team Blocks Investors from Crypto ETP Exposure

Jupiter Asset Management’s compliance team has blocked its investors from having any exposure to a cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP) in one of its Irish UCITs funds, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The UCITS are open-ended investment funds popular among European retail investors. However, the regulatory approaches in the EU have led to the blocking of crypto investments in these funds, particularly in Ireland.

Regulatory Challenges in Europe

European fund managers have been facing challenges in holding exposure to crypto assets in their funds due to the divergent regulatory approaches across the region. In Ireland, the Commissioner’s stance on crypto investment vehicles such as ETFs and ETPs is clear – they do not recognize Bitcoin or crypto as a qualified asset class, thus rejecting ETP filings.

Laurent Kssis, a crypto expert, stated, “The Commissioner in Ireland has been very clear about crypto investment vehicles such as ETFs and ETPs, they do not recognize Bitcoin or crypto as qualified [asset class] hence why today this still stands. We filed our first ETP filing with them back in 2015 under section 110 and this was rejected.”

About Jupiter Asset Management and UK Investors in Crypto

Jupiter Asset Management, a UK-based fund management group with assets under management of $66.5 billion, manages equity and bond investments for private and institutional investors. However, the spokesperson was unavailable to comment further on the Financial Times report during press time.

In another instance, Ruffer Investment Management, also UK-based, made a significant profit from investing in Bitcoin, demonstrating the interest of UK investors in crypto assets.

European Crypto ETP Providers and Regulatory Interventions

The European market offers a wide array of products, including crypto ETPs from providers such as 21Shares, CoinShares, WisdomTree, VanEck, Valour, Invesco, Hashdex, and ETC Group.

However, in January 2021, the FCA implemented a ban on the sale of derivatives and ETPs due to the potential harm they pose for retail consumers. Nonetheless, institutional investors can access crypto products through certain financial institutions.