Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s largest wealth managers, has reportedly informed its financial advisers that all clients will be able to invest in cryptocurrency funds starting Oct. 15, CNBC reported.
Advisers will be able to offer crypto funds to clients with individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s, a significant shift from the previous policy that restricted access to high-net-worth investors with over $1.5 million in assets and an aggressive risk profile.
The move could unlock millions of dollars currently tied up in other assets, paving the way for a portion of that capital to flow into cryptocurrencies. As of June 30, US retirement assets totaled about $45.8 trillion, with IRAs holding about $18 trillion and 401(k) plans about $9.3 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute’s latest quarterly update.
Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management division employs about 16,000 financial advisers across its advisory network, and oversees roughly $6.2 trillion in assets, serving more than 19 million client relationships, according to the company’s 2025 Annual Shareholder Letter.
Morgan Stanley GIC guidelines for maximum crypto allocations in investment portfolios. Source: Hunter Horsley
To ensure clients don’t take on excessive exposure to crypto, Morgan Stanley will use automated systems, and for the time being, advisers can only offer Bitcoin funds managed by BlackRock and Fidelity. The company is monitoring the market for other crypto products, CNBC cited people familiar with the policy as saying.
“Institutions are beginning to see digital assets not just as speculative investments, but as an investable asset class that needs structured access points,” Sei Labs co-founder Jeff Feng told Cointelegraph when asked to comment on the policy.
As crypto-native platforms bring tokenized assets onchain and asset managers open new channels for exposure, “the distinction between traditional and onchain finance continues to blur.” The result is that digital assets are “becoming a standard part of diversified portfolios,” Feng said.
In October, a report from Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment Committee advised a cautious approach to crypto, suggesting up to 4% exposure in high-risk “Opportunistic Growth” portfolios, 2% in “Balanced Growth,” and none in income or preservation strategies.
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Crypto in wealth management
Morgan Stanley’s policy shift comes as several of the world’s largest asset managers deepen their involvement with digital assets.
In April, Fidelity launched a new suite of retirement accounts giving Americans near-zero-fee access to crypto investments. The offerings include a traditional IRA and two Roth IRA options, allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin.
In June, global banking and financial services giant JPMorgan said it would allow trading and wealth management clients to use crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as collateral for loans, Bloomberg reported. The bank also said it would factor clients’ crypto holdings into its assessments of overall net worth.
Asset manager BlackRock is also looking into expanding its crypto offerings after its spot Bitcoin ETF became the company’s most profitable fund, generating $245 million in fees over the past year.
On Sept. 11, Bloomberg reported that BlackRock is exploring ways to tokenize ETFs on blockchain networks, which could allow them to trade around the clock and serve as collateral within decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
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