Elwood Asset Management, an investment firm owned by billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard, is reportedly looking to launch a $1 billion venture into the cryptocurrency space, looking to invest in hedge funds.
According to a report published by the Financial Times, Elwood’s CEO Bin Ren revealed the venture will help investors choose quality funds, and that it sees this space as a “very big growth opportunity.”
Details of the unnamed cryptocurrency venture aren’t yet finalized, but the Financial Times’ report suggests it’ll help institutional investors by designing portfolios of cryptocurrency funds for them. All they’ll have to do is chose one after being presented with several factors, including expected returns.
Elwood has been screening cryptocurrency hedge funds and, according to Ren, already found some that “probably satisfy” its due diligence. Its goal is to also help solve some issues regarding the largely unregulated cryptocurrency space, including asset custody. Ren was quoted as saying:
Losing traditional assets in the real world is hard. In the digital world, it’s very easy to lose assets — put in the wrong address for a bitcoin transfer and it’s gone forever.
While the number of cryptocurrency hedge funds surged late year, investors are reportedly wary of most as some hold illiquid assets and include high-risk tokens as part of their portfolios. The investment firm will reportedly charge a fee for the service provided to institutional investors.
