Latest news with #retailinvestor
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Expert Warns How You Invest in Bitcoin Can Drastically Alter Results — 2 Reasons To Tread Lightly
With Bitcoin currently tracking at around $114,000, as of Aug. 6, and having gained approximately 22% in value year-to-date, there's little doubt that crypto-savvy investors consider it a mainstay of any diversified portfolio. Try This: For You: That's perhaps why, in mid-June, investing reporter Christine Ji — formerly of Business Insider, now reporting to MarketWatch — detailed her foray into Bitcoin investing, outlining mixed results and why it's important to be careful as to how you trade the up-and-coming crypto. First, Avoid FOMO The first lament shared by Ji is the simple fact that she bought into Bitcoin for the wrong reasons. 'In hindsight, I realize I committed the classic retail investor impulse: Buying in because of FOMO. Sure, positive investor sentiment led to gains in bitcoin, as well as the ETF I bought that was designed to track the crypto. But my stock purchase proved ill-timed,' she wrote. To clarify matters, Ji invested in two shares tied to BTC — Blackrock's iShare's Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), and Semler Scientific (SMLR). The latter, a healthcare tech company, merely holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet as a hedge, while Blackrock's BTC ETF is tied to the crypto more closely by design. While IBIT performed very well (outperforming even BTC itself as a pure investment, at least by the time Ji had filed her initial report), the same couldn't be said for Semler, which actually shed value post-investment. FOMO, as advertised, can lead to hasty decisions rather than considered investments. It's your money, be sure to avoid FOMO-based decision-making. Read More: Focus on Bitcoin ETFs (or Bitcoin Itself), Rather Than Companies Holding BTC Reserves Tied to the above reasoning, Ji advised staying away from picking single stocks heavily advertising a balance sheet containing Bitcoin reserves. While this may be attractive to those unfamiliar with cryptocurrency, or who are following headlines seeing BTC soar, there are a multitude of other factors playing into each stock's valuation. 'My takeaway from the experience is that buying a single stocks as a Bitcoin proxy is probably not a good idea,' Ji began. 'When you buy into a Bitcoin treasury company, you're also inheriting all of its company-specific risks. That includes everything from management decisions and financial health to legal exposure, product performance, and market sentiment around the core business.' Instead, opening an account with a reputable investment platform allowing for trading of crypto — Kraken, Coinbase, etc. — and either buying Bitcoin itself, or buying into established Bitcoin ETFs, makes more sense, according to Ji. The Results Speak for Themselves While, at the time of publishing, Ji noted that IBIT had outperformed BTC (14% gain versus 12%, respectively), and Semler had lost more than 40%, things have shifted slightly in the interim. As of early August, IBIT was still performing well — up 16.6%, to $64.55 per share — and Semler was still sluggish (down 36.1%, to $34.87 per share). However, Bitcoin gained 21.9%, outperforming both stock options. More From GOBankingRates New Law Could Make Electricity Bills Skyrocket in These 4 States I'm an Economist: Here's When Tariff Price Hikes Will Start Hitting Your Wallet 5 Strategies High-Net-Worth Families Use To Build Generational Wealth 6 Big Shakeups Coming to Social Security in 2025 This article originally appeared on Expert Warns How You Invest in Bitcoin Can Drastically Alter Results — 2 Reasons To Tread Lightly
Bloomberg
28-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
May Global Regulatory Brief: Risk, capital and financial stability
FCA proposes further changes to UK retail investor disclosure framework The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published further proposed changes to the UK's retail investment disclosure regime under a new framework known as the Consumer Composite Investments (CCIs). Context: The FCA has already consulted on certain aspects of the CCI regime as it looks to replace the current PRIIPs and UCITS regimes with a more tailored, UK-specific disclosure model. This second consultation covers draft transitional provisions and amendments to the transaction costs methodology. Key Changes: The proposals set out specific details on several components of the CCI framework, including: Alignment with MiFID Org Regulation: Updates to cost disclosure requirements to ensure consistency across regimes. Revised Transaction Cost Calculations: Removal of 'implicit' costs from the methodology, with a focus on retaining only 'explicit' costs to reduce complexity and improve clarity. Transitional Arrangements: Rules to support firms transitioning from existing requirements to the new CCI regime. Handbook Amendments: Consequential updates across relevant areas of the FCA Handbook to reflect the introduction of the CCI framework. Complaints Handling: Basic requirements introduced for certain unauthorised CCI manufacturers to ensure consumer protections remain in place. Transaction costs in focus: The FCA proposes to retain transaction cost disclosures but simplify their calculation by: Removing implicit transaction costs, which are complex and often misunderstood, Focusing solely on explicit costs, which are more transparent and easier for consumers to understand. Looking ahead: The FCA is consulting on these changes until 28 May 2025 and a Policy Statement consolidating this and earlier consultations is expected in late-2025. Regulatory framework for Digital Insurers in Taiwan Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has proposed new rules to lower entry barriers and encourage innovation in the digital insurance industry. Key changes include reduced capital requirements and a broader approach to business models. In more detail: FSC aims to accelerate the digital insurance industry's growth with proposed amendments to seven key insurance regulations. The changes are designed to attract a more diverse range of market participants, including foreign insurers. The term 'pure internet insurance company' will be replaced by 'digital insurer,' allowing for more flexible business models. Capital requirements will be reduced to TWD 500 million for non-life insurers and TWD 1 billion for life insurers. The minimum shareholding requirement for shareholders to report their source of funds will be reduced from 15% to 10%, and the existing requirement that founding shareholders must include financial institutions or fintech professionals will be removed. Additionally, digital insurers will be allowed to operate through both online and physical service locations. What's next: The FSC will establish regular 'Supervisory Clinics' to assist with the establishment of digital insurers. Following public comment on the draft amendments, digital insurers developing innovative products will receive temporary exclusivity to encourage innovation. Foreign insurers will have new provisions to establish digital branches in Taiwan, with specific qualifications and documentation required. The draft amendments are open for public comment for 60 days. SEC Chair sets out plans to improve retail access to private funds The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins set out his ambition to improve retail investor access to private funds assets through changes to the rules for closed-end funds. In more detail: Atkins is looking to reconsider the current requirements that closed-end funds investing over 15% of their assets in private funds should impose a minimum initial investment requirement of $25,000 and restrict sales to investors that satisfy the accredited investor standard. In its place, Atkins is looking to achieve a 'common sense approach' that gives all investors the ability to gain exposure to private assets while maintaining the necessary investor protections, such as conflicts of interest, illiquidity, and fees. Atkins states that this initiative comes against the backdrop of significant growth in private fund assets and enhanced reporting by both private fund advisers and registered funds.
