Citigroup Launches Digital Asset Unit | Chief Investment Officer

Citigroup has become the latest institutional investor to get into the cryptocurrency and blockchain business with the launch of a new unit called the Digital Assets Group, which will come under its wealth management division, according to an internal memo.

According to the memo, which was obtained and reported on by cryptocurrency news site The Block and Bloomberg News, the group will be co-led by Alex Kriete, senior vice president, investment counselor at Citi Private Bank, and senior vice president and portfolio manager Greg Girasole.

“They will be responsible for developing our future product capabilities, client delivery mechanisms and thought leadership around all digital assets,” the memo said. The memo added that Kriete and Girasole will develop products and “work in tandem with our functional partners and the broader Capital Markets and Citi Investment Management teams to develop a robust and scalable value proposition.” They will also be liaisons to “all other business groups at Citi that are expanding into this rapidly emerging space.”

Earlier this month State Street launched a digital division called State Street Digital that it said will build on the financial services firm’s digital capabilities and expand to include crypto, central bank digital currency, blockchain, and tokenization. And in April, the firm was named as the administrator of a planned Bitcoin-backed exchange-traded note that will be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It was also was appointed the fund administrator and transfer agent of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, a new Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

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In March, investment bank Morgan Stanley internally announced plans to launch access to three funds that provide Bitcoin ownership. However, the bank is limiting access to its wealthier clients, as it considers the investment suitable only for clients with at least $2 million in assets and a high risk tolerance.

And in January the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, revealed in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings that it was getting into the cryptocurrency business when it applied to the regulator to include Bitcoin futures in two of its funds.

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Tags: Alex Kriete, Blockchain, Citigroup, Cryptocurrency, digital asset, Digital Assets Group, Global Wealth Investments, Greg Girasole

The $34 billion Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has named David Veal as its next CIO to replace Tom Tull, who last year announced plans to retire this summer after nearly 12 years at the pension fund.

David Veal

Veal returns to Texas ERS from the City of Austin Employees’ Retirement System (COAERS), where he has been CIO for more than five years. He worked for Texas ERS from 2009 to 2012 as an equity analyst/sector strategist and a portfolio manager/market strategist.

“David’s impressive investment experience, coupled with his track record as an effective leader and skilled communicator, make him the perfect person to take the helm for the ERS investment team,” Texas ERS Executive Director Porter Wilson said in a statement.

Prior to COAERS, Veal had a brief stint as CIO and managing director of EF Capital Management, and before that was at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas for close to three years, where he held the roles of director of strategic partnerships and research and chief of staff to the CIO. A former supply officer with the US Navy, Veal started his financial career with Morgan Stanley, where he worked for close to 10 years as an equity research associate and then a senior research analyst.

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Veal, who begins in August, will manage a team of 78 staff members, including a dedicated risk management team. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and an Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

“I want to thank David Veal for his incredible leadership and management of the COAERS investment program and service to the members of our system,” COAERS Executive Director Christopher Hanson said in a statement. “His thoughtful and effective guidance helped lay a lasting foundation during his tenure here, which I have no doubt will continue into the future. We wish him all the best in this next chapter.”