$14B Spanish bank wants to beat market with actively-managed crypto fund

A newly-registered investment fund from Spanish private bank A&G will soon be trading crypto including bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).

A&G, with 12.4 billion euros ($13.7 billion) in assets under management, touts the actively-managed fund as the first of its kind in Europe.

Its managers will have the freedom to allocate the fund’s weight in any manner they deem fit, with at least 70% exposure to physical crypto at all times.

The fund will be overseen by Román González Torres and Rubén Ayuso, both of whom have prior experience managing other funds at A&G.

Torres told Blockworks there will be a focus on “the main cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap and liquidity.” A&G registered the fund with Spain’s financial regulatory authority on July 21, and it is slated to launch by the end of September this year. 

“If the market becomes overly optimistic (reaches exuberance), up to 30% of the fund may be held in cash. However, the core of the fund will always be invested in cryptocurrencies, making it a 100% crypto fund,” he said.

Some passively-managed crypto funds like Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) and Bitwise’s 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) track specific crypto indexes. GDLC is up 8.6% over the past year while BITW has gained 26.1%.

A&G’s fund will not follow such an approach. Its managers will decide crypto exposure based on market conditions — liquidity and the like — and indicators from data providers such as Glassnode. Product updates and market adoption will also be factored in.

According to Torres, the fund will be an exchange-traded product. Investing through the fund provides tax benefits compared to direct investments in cryptocurrencies, especially when swaps are involved, he added.

Torres said the bank has been working on the fund’s launch for over two years, and the introduction of MiCA has been helpful in making it happen. There is no initial target size for the fund, a spokesperson told Blockworks.

A&G has appointed CACEIS Bank, the asset servicing arm of Crédit Agricole, as the depositary of the fund and enlisted PwC as the auditor.

“The volatility will be high. We expect to beat the crypto market in the long run,” Torres said. 

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