Bitcoin is too risky and should not be included in an investor’s portfolio, British financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown said this week.
In a warning issued on the Bristol, UK-based investment platform’s website, the company said that crypto in general “shouldn’t be relied upon to help clients meet their financial goals.”
Hargreaves Lansdown, which administers £170 billion ($226.8 billion) in assets, did add that it would allow qualified clients to invest in the new British crypto exchange-traded notes.
“Bitcoin is the largest and most widely held cryptocurrency,” the firm’s statement read. “While longer-term returns of Bitcoin have been positive, Bitcoin has experienced several periods of extreme losses and is a highly volatile investment—much riskier than stocks or bonds.”
“The HL Investment view is that Bitcoin is not an asset class, and we do not think cryptocurrency has characteristics that mean it should be included in portfolios for growth or income and shouldn’t be relied upon to help clients meet their financial goals,” it added.
Hargreaves Lansdown added that crypto in general “has no intrinsic value.”
The firm’s stark warning contrasts with other financial services companies around the globe.
BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, changed its view in recent years regarding Bitcoin after its CEO admitted he came around to understanding the asset.
The firm shook the crypto and traditional finance world in 2023 when it applied for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Then, in 2024, the SEC approved its product—along with 10 other crypto funds—and it had the most successful launch in the history of ETFs.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has since said that the asset has a place in portfolios of investors seeking uncorrelated returns, calling it “a legit financial instrument.”
Meanwhile, hedge fund legend Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates said in July that investors should allocate at least 15% of their portfolios to gold and Bitcoin as a hedge against macroeconomic risks.
Still, others in the traditional finance world have continued to criticize Bitcoin and the crypto industry, with JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon perhaps being the most prominent Wall Street skeptic.
“I’m not personally a believer in Bitcoin itself, but you’re the customer, I don’t like to tell customers what they can and can’t do with their money,” he said earlier this year.
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