A survey released today by Capgemini shows that 29 percent of high net worth individuals have a high degree of interest in cryptocurrency investment and are not receiving adequate advice from their wealth managers, according to Reuters.
The information is gained from Capgemini's annual survey, the World Wealth Report. The latest edition showed that in addition to the aforementioned 29 percent, a further 26.9 percent are "on the fence" regarding cryptocurrency investment - meaning that well over half of HNWIs are aware of and/or interested in cryptocurrency.
Capgemeni, a Paris-based business consulting corporation, defines HNWIs as people with at least $1 million available to invest, outside of asset holdings such as real estate, automobiles, and art. At the beginning of 2018, there were an estimated 15.2 million such people in the world. This sector of society controls more than $70 trillion, and Capgemini expects that figure to grow to $106 trillion by 2025.
The survey found that 71.1 percent of younger millionaires (age 40 and below) place "high importance" on receiving information about cryptocurrency from their wealth management firms, as do 13 percent of those aged 60 and over.
Overall, only 34.6 percent of them said that they had received cryptocurrency information from their wealth managers.
This seems to point to a trend of wealth managers being a bit behind the times. It also reveals a market force which could go some way towards explaining the fact that at least 167 new cryptocurrency hedge funds were created last year. Over the course of 2017, these funds saw massive growth in profit.
Even this year we saw notable developments like the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller Foundation, Venrock, signing with a cryptocurrency investment fund, and new cryptocurrency investment funds being established by defectors from giants of traditional finance BlackRock and Goldman Sachs. Even Soros Fund Management, the investment kitty of the famously crypto-sceptic George Soros, was reportedly looking into the sector in April.
Interestingly, however, the Financial Times reported yesterday that cryptocurrency hedge funds have seen their profits drop by 35 percent this year, and as many as nine have shut down completely.
Speaking of rich people - a self-proclaimed Bitcoin millionaire was convicted yesterday of being drunk and disorderly in the British seaside resort of Newquay. The hotel that he was staying at was on fire, and he tried to force his way past the firemen at work. "I sh*t more than you earn in a year," he winningly exclaimed, according to the Plymouth Herald.
