TOBAM Launches First European Bitcoin Mutual Fund
Fund to integrate potential fork management while mitigating loss and theft.
Capitalizing on the growing trend of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, Paris-based asset management firm TOBAM ($8.8 billion) has launched the TOBAM Bitcoin Fund, an unregulated alternative investment fund.
The fund, which the firm is touting as the first of its kind in Europe, allows qualified investors to gain exposure to the unique asset class via a safe and more convenient vehicle. The mutual cryptocurrency fund integrates the management of potential forks, and also mitigates the risk of loss and theft.
“Research is the founding pillar of TOBAM, and we have conducted research from a technical, financial, economic, and regulatory point of view on Bitcoin for a year prior to launching this fund,” Yves Choueifaty, president of TOBAM, said in a statement. “Bitcoin being a highly diversifying asset, this launch is also an expression of our commitment to diversification in all its forms.”
The fund’s structure and function will be backed by TOBAM’s cyber-security systems. To implement fully integrated risk control and straight-through-processing investment systems, TOBAM will leverage research capabilities as well as its in-house computers.
“Direct investment in Bitcoin can be operationally challenging, from dealing with the choice of the platform, to maintaining the proper security measures in terms of custody and to managing the changes made to the protocol—hard forks,” Christophe Roehri, head of business development, said in a statement. “Our goal is to take control of these operational challenges in order to facilitate access for qualified investors willing to gain exposure to Bitcoin. All of that under the format of a fund.”
The fund is available to eligible investors globally on a private-placement basis.