According to PANews, Morgan Stanley is reportedly considering expanding its Bitcoin sales, allowing its approximately 15,000 brokers to solicit customers for purchases. This information was revealed by two executives familiar with the company's plans. Like its peers, the company began offering related products after Bitcoin ETF received regulatory approval in January of this year. However, it had previously only provided these in a non-aggressive sales manner, meaning customers had to actively seek out their advisors for investment. Allowing advisors to recommend these products could potentially increase demand, but it could also expose the company to additional liability risks.
One of the executives stated that Morgan Stanley is still trying to establish 'protection rules' for the promoted purchase activities. These rules would include requirements for risk tolerance and restrictions on investment allocation and transaction frequency. Neither executive provided a timeframe for when the company might change its policy. 'We will be very careful,' the first executive added, 'We want to ensure everyone has a chance to access it. We just want to do this in a controlled manner.'
Morgan Stanley's peers have also adopted a similar cautious approach. Merrill Lynch of Bank of America and Wells Fargo launched related products shortly after Bitcoin ETF received approval, but they also only accept non-aggressive purchases. In some cases, they only target ultra-wealthy customers. For instance, Merrill Lynch requires customers to have at least $10 million or more in assets to purchase Bitcoin ETF.