At Radical Investment, we are a Bitcoin-friendly firm. We understand the asset class well, and are actively engaged in education initiatives with investors, and the broader financial advice community. We even have some Bitcoin miners quietly whirring away in the office!

In July we were part of a group at parliament to discuss with more than 20 current sitting MPs why Bitcoin is relevant, and to propose changes the government should consider to the current treatment of Bitcoin in New Zealand for the benefit of all New Zealanders. This event has been a pre-cursor to the formation of the Bitcoin Policy Institute New Zealand which one or more of our advisers expect to be founding members of (will have some more details on this in future via a separate blog).

Following the most successful ETF launch of all-time in January 2024, with the iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), the KiwiWRAP KiwiSaver Scheme began offering exposure to Bitcoin ETFs due to significant demand (from April 1, 2024). For many everyday investors who want exposure here, they now don’t have to deal with the technical complexities involved in acquiring and storing this growing asset class.

Since early 2024, demand for Bitcoin exposure via reliable, regulated investments has exploded. This has come in the form of spot ETFs, Bitcoin Treasury Companies, Bitcoin Mining Companies and other companies holding Bitcoin on their Balance Sheet. As demand has evolved globally, even more Bitcoin-themed investment options have become available for KiwiWRAP KiwiSaver Scheme members. A lot of this is thanks to the open communication and collaborative discussions we have with our clients.

Our objective is to help clients build a personalised KiwiSaver portfolio that suits their long-term goals and objectives.

What Bitcoin investments are currently available via KiwiWRAP?

Most consistently we are seeing demand for:

Spot ETFs

• iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT)

• Fidelity Bitcoin ETF (FBTC)

• VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL)

• Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)

• Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB)

Bitcoin Treasury Companies & Preferred Stock

• Strategy/MicroStrategy (MSTR)

• Metaplanet (3350)

• Semler Scientific (SMLR)

• Strategy Perpetual Preferred Stock (STRF, STRD, STRK & STRC)

Bitcoin Mining/AI processing Companies

• IREN Limited (IREN)

• Cleanspark (CLSK)

• MARA Holdings (MARA)

• Hut 8 Corp (HUT)

Broad-exposure ETFs

• Coinshares Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI)

• Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF (OWNB)

• Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK)

For a full list, you can refer to the KiwiWRAP Investment Options Supplement (IOS) which is updated quarterly.

KiwiWRAP does not strictly prevent any asset allocation for a client, provided that:

• The client has received advice from an accredited Financial Advice Provider (such as Radical Investment)

• The advice is fit for purpose.

• The client is investing in assets permitted within the scheme.

• There will be sufficient cash in the client portfolio to cover for fees & costs along the way.

What’s the process?

• Get in touch, to see whether Radical Investment & KiwiWRAP are a fit for you (there is a $50,000 minimum KiwiSaver balance requirement for KiwiWRAP). 

• Complete our risk profile, helping us to understand your circumstances, objectives and how you want to see your portfolio function, including the place that KiwiSaver fits in your overall wealth picture.

• Answer any further questions to ensure you have the tolerance, timeframe, knowledge/expertise & understanding for the investment approach you wish to take, and/or that we recommend.

• Agree a scope for the advice and service to be provided.

• Receive our advice, detailing specific investments in your portfolio, specific expected costs for your portfolio, and details on how your portfolio will function.

• Confirm advice if/once satisfied, and provide other documentation needed to process an application for KiwiWRAP.

• Wait for funds to be received and invested.

• Annual reviews with your adviser at Radical Investment.

General Advantages of KiwiWRAP KiwiSaver Scheme

• High degree of flexibility and ability for client input compared to most KiwiSaver Schemes.

• Ability to request new investments within the scheme, reviewed quarterly and approval subject to certain criteria.

• Transparency of performance reporting, value of investments and visibility of individual transactions

• Ability to structure your KiwiSaver account around your personal circumstances – not forced into a ‘one-size-fits-most’ type structure.

• Ability for conviction-based investing - We are observing greater financial literacy, and a frustration with feeling ‘babied’ by more traditional multi-asset class KiwiSaver funds.

Disclaimer

Digital assets such as Bitcoin can be subject to high volatility, particularly over short timeframes. Investments that tend to move with some form of leverage to the underlying asset such as (but not limited to) Bitcoin Treasury Companies come with add additional risk of total loss and volatility. The above detail is informational in nature and not to be considered financial advice. 

Clients requesting exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana or any other digital assets in a KiwiSaver or investment portfolio need to be accepting and understanding of the associated risks which can include many risks more traditional investments are not subject to.