Wealthy Investors Want Crypto Advice, but Advisors Remain Cautious
Wealthy clients are looking for crypto advice from wealth managers, but many firms still lack policies or knowledge. CoinShares sees a gap between demand for digital assets and caution across the industry.
Key Takeaways
- Wealthy investors in seven markets see wealth managers as their main source for crypto information, but about 40% think their advisor is too cautious.
- In a CoinShares survey, 61% of wealth professionals say they work at firms that restrict digital assets or do not have clear guidelines.
- Between 54% and 70% of investors already hold digital assets, while 69% would consider a crypto-savvy wealth manager.
Wealthy investors in seven major markets trust wealth managers most for information about crypto, but many of their advisors remain noticeably cautious, according to new research. In a CoinShares survey, about 4 in 10 investors with an advisor say that advisor is too cautious about crypto.
Advisors Stay on the Sidelines
The survey was published on October 5 and included 2,230 investors in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland. All respondents had at least $500,000 (€445,400) in investable assets outside real estate.
The results line up with an earlier CoinShares survey of 261 wealth professionals in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK. That survey already showed that 61% work at firms that restrict digital assets or do not have clear internal guidelines. At those firms, only 1% of advisors actively give crypto advice, compared with 48% at firms that do support digital assets.
CoinShares also said in June that 25% of advisors say more than half of their clients' crypto is outside their view. In the UK, that figure rose to 52%.
Investors Want More Help
On the investor side, the mood is less hesitant. Depending on the market, 54% to 70% of respondents already hold digital assets. Between 71% and 91% of those current holders want to add more exposure this year.
At the same time, 88% say they do not have enough knowledge to invest with full confidence. That is why 69% would consider a crypto-savvy wealth manager, and among current holders who are open to advice, 98% are willing to pay for it. In the US and the UK, wealth managers also score 25 to 30 points higher on trust than most other information sources.
Why This Matters
For European crypto readers, this shows that demand for professional advice is growing faster than many advisory firms are willing to fully embrace crypto. That fits the broader uncertainty around regulation in the US and Europe, where clear rules are still a hurdle for many players. For wealth managers, that could mean clients are already looking for exposure, but not always through the channels they would prefer to use themselves. The recent proposals for crypto custody also show that advisors and asset managers are still waiting for clearer rules before they add crypto more broadly to their services.
