December 13, 2024
In a pioneering move among major Australian superannuation funds, AMP Pensions and Wealth Management (AMP) has announced that it has allocated A$27 million to invest in Bitcoin futures contracts. The investment comes as part of the fund’s strategy to explore emerging opportunities in the digital asset market, while maintaining a prudent risk management approach.
Steve Flegg, the fund’s senior portfolio manager, said in a LinkedIn post that the fund decided to enter this space earlier this year, considering the allocated amount to be a modest and deliberate step, and there are currently no plans to increase the size of investment in this asset class.
Anna Shelley, Chief Investment Officer at AMP, explained that the investment in Bitcoin contracts came as a result of structural changes in the digital assets sector over the past year, including the launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds. She noted that this investment represents only about 0.05% of the fund’s total assets, and that the move came after extensive testing and in-depth study by the investment committee.
It is worth noting that the Australian superannuation sector is subject to intense scrutiny in several areas, including valuations in the over-the-counter markets and annual performance tests, which saw some superannuation products managed by the AMB Fund fail this year.