By Lisa Pauline Mattackal
(Reuters) – Asset manager Neuberger Berman gave its Commodity Strategy Fund the green light to invest indirectly in cryptocurrencies, a regulatory filing showed.
The $164.4 million mutual fund, which invests in commodity-linked futures contracts, can now add exposure to futures for cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, bitcoin trusts and exchange-traded funds, the company said in an U.S. SEC filing https://bit.ly/3lZVIdE dated Aug. 11.
Its portfolio managers see cryptocurrencies as increasing diversification and providing a hedge against higher inflation, a spokesman for the fund told Reuters.
“Accessing these markets through exchange traded instruments is a prudent way to gain exposure, which the portfolio management team will seek to do over the coming weeks and months,” the spokesman added.
The $433 billion firm previously said that “the Bitcoin phenomenon is worth watching closely,” in a March blog post.
Other investment firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co, have recently given select clients access to cryptocurrency funds as bitcoin has rocketed in value, jumping over 53% since the start of 2021.
(Reporting by Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Dan Grebler)
