Global Investors (a Popular Gold Fund Manager) Is Now Buying Bitcoin Exposure

U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is an investment management firm with a proven track record of investing in gold and precious metals. In a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm disclosed that it now has exposure to Bitcoin via an investment in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

According to the filing first shared on Twitter by user @Mascrocope, Global Investors added Grayscale Bitcoin shares to three of its funds, namely, the Gold and Precious Metals Fund (USERX), the Global Resources Fund (PSPFX), and the World Precious Minerals Fund (UNWPX).

U.S. Global Investors, the investment manager well-known for specializing in gold and precious metals, today disclosed it has started buying BTC exposure.

It added Grayscale Bitcoin in three funds: Gold and Precious Metals Fund; Global Resources Fund; and World Precious…

— MacroScope (@MacroScope17) August 30, 2021

Across the funds, Global Investors acquired 19,000 Grayscale BTC shares, which at the current market price of $38.9 per share would be worth around $739,000.

Given that Global Investors boasts over $4 billion in assets under management, the firm’s exposure to BTC might be considered insignificant. But that would not be entirely true considering Global Investor’s background with investing in precious metals.

Two of the mutual funds to which it added Bitcoin exposure – the Gold and Precious Metals Fund and the World Precious Minerals Fund – are primarily focused on investing in new and established companies that mine and refine gold and precious metals. The Global Resources Fund similarly focuses on “investing in energy and basic materials” including petroleum, natural gas, chemicals, etc.

Dipping their toes into Bitcoin naturally adds to the narrative that traditional investors are beginning to view Bitcoin as a viable alternative to gold.

While Bitcoin hasn’t been historically proven, according to critics, the leading cryptocurrency has yielded far more returns in the past decade and more compared to gold. Global Investors’ current exposure probably won’t be their last, and could also lure competing funds to seek exposure to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin trades around $48,000 at the time of writing, boasting a $905 billion market cap, or less than 10% of gold’s $11 trillion market value.