Ritholtz, WisdomTree Launch Crypto Index for Investment Advisors

Ritholtz Wealth Management and WisdomTree Investments are launching the RWM WisdomTree Crypto Index to give retail investors easier access to crypto investments via financial advisors, the companies announced Friday.

The Index holds 36% bitcoin, 20% ether and 4% each of 11 “other cryptoassets that provide exposure to the broader crypto ecosystem,” according to a statement.

“This is really trying to capture above and beyond just the ‘King Kong’ and ‘Godzilla’ of the cryptocurrency market,” Michael Batnick, Ritholtz’s director of research, told CoinDesk in an interview, referring to the index’s exposure to decentralized finance (DeFi) and metaverse tokens, not just bitcoin and ether.

Batnick said that Ritholtz Wealth won’t be charging clients an investment management fee to hold the index.

Integration platform Onramp Invest will provide advisors with separately managed account (SMA) infrastructure, while the Winklevoss-led Gemini exchange will serve as the trading platform and custodian.

Read more: Why the Advisor Crypto Technology Gap Is Closing

Ritholtz’s chief investment officer, Barry Ritholtz, told CoinDesk that clients have become increasingly intrigued by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Beyond ETFs and mutual funds, he said that “this is going to be the next best thing for RIA [registered investment advisor] clients and RIAs who want to get exposure to the space.”

Ritholtz’s leadership, including Ritholtz, Batnick, Josh Brown and Ben Carlson, have invested in the index, along with financial advisors and employees at the firm.

Ritholtz has about $1.8 billion in assets under management, according to its website. WisdomTree currently has about $76.4 billion in assets under management globally, according to the statement.