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Commenting on crypto
May 16, 2022
Cryptocurrency has become a hot investing topic in recent years. But is a crypto fund in the cards for Vanguard? In this short video, Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis weighs in on the shortcomings of crypto and the potential benefits of the technology behind it.
Video transcript:
Producer: So, how’s it going?
Greg Davis: It’s going well, it’s going well. It’s all fun and games. (laugh)
Question (on screen): Will Vanguard offer a cryptocurrency fund?
Greg Davis: We always go back to what we see as our enduring investment principles. And they go to basically investing in stocks, bonds, and cash. And, ultimately, the challenge we have with cryptocurrency is that it doesn’t really have an intrinsic value. It’s more of a speculative asset class. And so on the one side, again, it doesn’t fit from an investment perspective, but the technology behind it is quite compelling. We actually use the blockchain technology today when we get our index data from one of our major providers because it’s more efficient, it reduces risk, it just makes a more operationally attractive way of receiving index data. So, again, the technology we think has a lot of value and merit, but again, investing in crypto, we think that’s more of a speculative asset. We don’t think that’s a great way to construct a long-term portfolio for clients.
Producer: So, how’s it going?
Greg Davis: It’s going well, it’s going well. It’s all fun and games. (laugh)
Question (on screen): Will Vanguard offer a cryptocurrency fund?
Greg Davis: We always go back to what we see as our enduring investment principles. And they go to basically investing in stocks, bonds, and cash. And, ultimately, the challenge we have with cryptocurrency is that it doesn’t really have an intrinsic value. It’s more of a speculative asset class. And so on the one side, again, it doesn’t fit from an investment perspective, but the technology behind it is quite compelling. We actually use the blockchain technology today when we get our index data from one of our major providers because it’s more efficient, it reduces risk, it just makes a more operationally attractive way of receiving index data. So, again, the technology we think has a lot of value and merit, but again, investing in crypto, we think that’s more of a speculative asset. We don’t think that’s a great way to construct a long-term portfolio for clients.
Notes: All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of money you invest. Investments in bonds are subject to interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.
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