Ritholtz Wealth Management and WisdomTree provided another ringing endorsement for cryptocurrency on Friday as they teamed up to launch the RWM WisdomTree Crypto Index, which they are promoting as the first index-based crypto separately managed account.
The new index was "designed to provide retail investors, via a financial advisor, access and diversified exposure to cryptoassets," the companies said in a joint announcement with Onramp Invest and Gemini.
The index has been licensed to Onramp, an integration platform that provides access to cryptoassets for RIAs and is supplying the SMA architecture, rebalancing technology, and customer support for advisors to seamlessly invest in the index on behalf of their clients. Gemini is serving as the trading platform and custodian.
At launch, the RWM WisdomTree Crypto Index is made up of 36% Bitcoin, 20% Ethereum and 4% each of 11 other cryptoassets that provide exposure to the broader crypto ecosystem, spanning layer-1 networks (payment systems and smart contract platforms), layer-2 protocols, oracle networks, crypto indexing services, decentralized finance and the metaverse, the companies said.
Company stocks included in the index are intended to represent thematic investments in diverse segments that the companies said advance crypto infrastructure and provide necessary services.
WisdomTree, which now has about $76.4 billion in AUM globally, is "incredibly bullish on digital assets transforming financial services," according to Jeremy Schwartz, its global chief investment officer. The company has "hired aggressively to build indexing infrastructure and support for a crypto-focused investment strategy," he said in a statement.
WisdomTree views this direct indexing implementation of the RWM WisdomTree Crypto Index via Onramp and Gemini as "the best-assembled structure and diversified cryptoasset exposure currently available to U.S. investors and particularly the RIA community," he added.
The index will follow a modified market-capitalization-weighted approach and allow the weights to fluctuate in line with market movements. As new cryptoassets become eligible for trading, custody and meet the standards of the index, and the market evolves, the Index Committee will review index exposures regularly, according to the companies.
