New CFA Institute Survey Finds Most Broker Representatives Steer Clear of Cryptoassets

CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, today released a survey finding that the majority of financial advisors are avoiding cryptoassets in their practices. The survey uncovered that a majority of broker-dealers prohibit reps from selling crypto-related vehicles, with more than 90 percent of the respondents reporting that their firms do not allow them to solicit sales of cryptoassets. Still, 67 percent said they would not sell such investments to clients even if they were available to them. Only 14 percent said they would, while 19 percent said they were unsure.

“The survey results show that, despite all the attention that crypto has gained, it still has a long way to go before entering the mainstream of retailing investing,” said Stephen Deane, Senior Director for Capital Markets Policy at CFA Institute.   “But the findings also show greater receptivity among broker reps who have entered the field in the past five years and probably have younger clients.” 

Key Findings:

• A generational divide emerges:
  
  
  • Advisors with five years of experience or less were most likely to be open to recommending cryptoassets if they could, with 38% saying they would. Within that same group, 69% said they are comfortable discussing the topic with clients

     

  • But advisors with more than 20 years of experience were far less open, with only 12% saying they’d sell cryptoassets were they available. This group was also less comfortable talking about cryptoassets (40%) than their less experienced peers.
    
    
• While more than half of advisors feel informed, a sizeable portion do not: 58 percent said they were either extremely, very or moderately knowledgeable about cryptoassets, compared to 42 percent who said they were slightly knowledgeable or not knowledgeable at all

   

• Only 10 percent reported experiencing a significant increase in investor interest for cryptoassets over the previous 12 months, while 44 percent reported there has been no increase in interest in that same time-period

“The survey results suggest that financial advisors are generally not feeling strong pressure from clients to discuss or purchase cryptoassets,” Deane concluded. “Respondents’ comments to open-ended questions also show that a number of advisors see their role as one of educating their clients about the risks of cryptoassets and steering them away from investments.”

Click here to download the survey results.