By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
A U.S. Securities and exchange commission (SEC) filing has revealed that Morgan Stanley’s Europe opportunity fund has invested nearly 29,000 in Grayscale bitcoin trust (GBTC) shares. Recently, the American megabank has been very active in the virtual asset market due to rising demand from its customers.
Two months ago, the bank enabled some of its funds to indirectly invest in bitcoin using futures contracts with cash settlements and GBTC. Some of the funds it enabled include Variable Insurance Fund, Insight Fund, and Institutional Fund Trust.
Previous sec filings indicate that each fund cannot invest more than 26% of its assets in the leading cryptocurrency. Morgan Stanley‘s Europe opportunity fund comprises Europe-based firms from various industries and other investment firms.
In March this year, the megabank launched its bitcoin investment fund scheme for its wealthy private clients and even opened a vacancy to hire a lead analyst for its crypto and blockchain section. The digital currency group owns Grayscale, Coindesk and other top investment firms, some of which are in the crypto space.
Like the general crypto market, Grayscale’s assets under management have also been on the decline recently. Various metrics reveal that the GBTC assets under management are about $22 billion.
Morgan Stanley Plans for A New $12.5 Billion Stock Repurchase
Part of a press release issued on Monday by Morgan Stanley revealed that the bank would start paying $0.70 per share beginning from the next quarter. Also, it has set aside about $12.5 billion to start repurchasing its stock till mid next year. Some hours after the release, Morgan Stanley shares rose by about 4.5% during after-hours trading. James Gorman (Morgan Stanley’s CEO) revealed that “the bank’s buffer is one of the largest in the industry as it has been the funds over many years.”
Also read:“The board decided to toe the repurchase path because we want our capital base to align with what’s needed for its modified business model.” it seems that all the banks are in haste to make their market close announcement.
Other Banks Following Are Morgan Stanley’s Footsteps
Morgan Stanley’s biggest rival, JPMorgan Chase, has announced that it would start paying a dividend of $1 per share (an 11% rise from the previous amount it pays). Also, its share repurchase plan is already existing.
Bank of America and Goldman Sachs would also increase their dividend payout and plan to repurchase their shares. Bank of America’s new dividend payout would be $0.21, while their share repurchase plan would be $26 billion. However, Goldman Sachs’s new dividend payout of $2 per share is yet to be approved by its board.
Like Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo’s new dividend payout of $0.20 is yet to be approved by its board. Its share repurchase will start from next quarter using an $18 billion fund.
Surprisingly, Citigroup’s CEO Jane Fraser didn’t reveal any planned increase in dividend payout or a share repurchase plan. The CEO further said the bank plans to increase its “stress capital buffer requirement” this year. Hence, it might not have sufficient capital to boost returns. After the announcement from Citigroup’s CEO, the bank’s share price declined by about 0.9%.
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