Three firms involved in the evolving cryptocurrency market have joined forces to give advisors more choices and simpler execution for their clients who want to invest in the digital coin market, the firms announced today.
3iQ US, Gemini and BITRIA are launching a platform for advisors and asset managers that is designed to make it easier to create separately managed digital accounts based on either a model portfolio or a customized product, the firms said.
The platform will offer advisors and investors secure, direct digital asset exposure with a professionally managed structure that offers customized solutions based on risk tolerance and investment interest; a holistic platform offering multiple investment strategies with daily liquidity and flexible pricing; and tax loss harvesting and other portfolio customizations not broadly available through private or exchange-traded funds, the firms explained.
The new platform is called the 3iQ Digital Managed Account Platform, or Q-MAP. Q-MAP includes four model portfolios and a one-step investment option that is a scalable, the firms said. The platform will accommodate U.S. institutional investors, family offices, RIAs and wealth managers who are looking for cryptocurrency exposure for their clients.
3iQ Digital Assets US is a subsidiary of 3iQ Digital Asset Management, which is one of Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund managers with more than $3.3 billion in AUM. In 2020, 3iQ Digital Asset Management became the first Canadian investment fund manager to offer bitcoin and ether closed-end funds on the Toronto Stock Exchange. More recently, 3iQ Digital Asset Management launched bitcoin and ether ETFs in collaboration with CoinShares. As the cryptocurrency market grows, 3iQ Digital Asset Management is expanding its global footprint.
Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange and institutional-grade custodian, enables customers to buy, sell, store and earn cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, ether and DeFi tokens. The firm was founded in 2014 by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
Dan Eyre, CEO of BITRIA, said in a statement, “With surging investor demand for digital assets, there’s never been a more important time for asset managers to offer crypto SMAs that enable a high degree of customization, tax-smart investing and risk management. As part of the Q-MAP solution, our platform gives 3iQ the ability to actively manage a large volume of accounts simultaneously across a variety of strategies, arming institutional and wealth management customers with a flexible and scalable solution that provides access to a diverse selection of digital asset choices.”
He said in an interview, “Advisors sometimes feel they have to know everything about a specialty asset class before they take the first steps offering it to clients. If they do that, this asset class will pass them by. They need to have a good manager who can help. Q-MAP will not be standing still. It will move with the market.”
The new Q-MAP platform is powered by Gemini. Gemini is integrated with BITRIA’s digital turnkey asset management platform. Q-MAP is designed to help investors gain exposure to bitcoin, ether and the broader universe of digital assets, by enabling them to select from a range of model portfolios available through the platform.
“With our institutional-grade security protocols and proactive approach to regulation, Gemini serves as the engine of choice for financial institutions that want to invest in crypto at scale. As the best performing asset class over the past ten years, digital assets have truly arrived and institutional investors, advisors and their clients deserve a turnkey approach that allows them to incorporate crypto securely and compliantly” in their portfolios, Kristen Mirabella, Gemini director of business development, said in a statement.
BITRIA's digital asset SMA and digital turnkey asset management platform solutions are designed to offer a range of options for advisors so they can offer their clients direct asset ownership. It includes a selection of asset choices that can be tailored to the growth and risk appetites of different classes of investors, the firm said.