Analysis: Despite the increasing interest from retail investors, most financial advisors are still unwilling or unable to handle requests related to Crypto Assets.

Odaily Planet Daily News Several consultants and analysts have stated that despite the increasing interest from retail investors, most financial advisors are still unwilling or unable to handle clients’ requests related to Crypto Assets. “I often talk to other financial planners - 99.99% of them strongly disagree with my views,” said Jim Crider, a registered financial planner in Texas, who often recommends BTC to his clients. “They think BTC is tulips and Beanie Babies, absolutely worthless.” Matt Apkarian, the Vice President of Product Development at Cerulli Associates, a research and consulting firm that studies the financial advisory industry, said, ‘If you’re an advisor who can’t provide or talk about certain things, they may look for someone who is willing to provide them.’ While most analysts believe that the role of retail investors in the current Bull Market is smaller than in previous cycles, several advisors have pointed out that they have recently seen a significant increase in people’s interest. “I have to say that this year, especially in the past week, we have seen more requests than ever before, as the Cryptocurrency market pumps,” said Jonathan Barrett of Barrett Financial Advisors in New Jersey. He added, “When it was still a new and alternative asset class, many people had not heard of it and were very skeptical, but the concept of Decentralization currency is becoming more and more common, and people’s interest is also rising.” Morrison and Crider are members of the BTC Financial Advisor Network, and they are promoting themselves to investors who ‘hope and are committed to incorporating BTC into their financial plans’. Crider said that only a few advisors in the country are BTC longs. Recent research shows that the vast majority of financial planners do not recommend or discuss cryptocurrency with their clients. In July, Cerulli Associates released a survey of 1,500 financial planners, which found that only 2.6% recommended cryptocurrency investments to their clients and only 13.7% had used or discussed cryptocurrency with clients. Alex Shahidi, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Evoke Advisors, a boutique wealth advisory firm, said that due to the complexity of cryptocurrency technology, advisors may also be reluctant to recommend cryptocurrency. ‘The learning curve is high. It’s a new technology, a new concept. At some point, it will reach a tipping point where it becomes important enough that you should spend the time to learn about it. That doesn’t mean you have to support it or be against it, but at least you want to raise the learning curve.’ “Many still believe this is a Ponzi Scheme and will completely disappear,” Apkarian said. He pointed out that Cerulli’s 2023 survey asked advisors who do not use Crypto Assets or discuss Crypto Assets with clients about their reasons for taking this position, and the most common answer was “considering it unsuitable for inclusion in investment portfolios.” (Decrypt)