The Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund on Friday said it had purchased bitcoin for the defined benefit plan’s portfolio, making it the first public pension fund in the United States to do so.
According to Nate Conrad, NYDIG’s global director of asset management, the investment marks “a watershed moment for bitcoin and its role in public pensions.”
Fiduciaries, Conrad said, are more aware of the “impact that even a minor allocation to digital assets can have over time,” adding that they now have a “partner in NYDIG who can assist them in making that happen.”
With backing from institutional crypto provider
Bloomberg reported that HFRRF acquired bitcoin and another cryptocurrency for a total of $25 million, facilitated by institutional bitcoin services provider NYDIG, which would also provide custody services to the pension fund.
NYDIG has established a private fund, which it will manage, to buy and custody HFRRF’s assets.
“I view this as another instrument for risk management,” Ajit Singh, the fund’s chief investment officer, told Bloomberg.
Singh added that bitcoin provides a “positive predicted return and manages my risk” as the digital asset class is highly correlated with all other asset classes.
Giving donors access to bitcoin-related services
HFRRF intends to continue cultivating its relationship with NYDIG in order to provide its over 6,600 donors with access to the spectrum of bitcoin-related services offered by NYDIG’s full-stack platform.
Beneficiaries of the HFRRF include active and retired firefighters, as well as survivors of firefighters.
The acquisition is the first by a public pension fund in the United States, and it has the potential to benefit HFRRF members greatly in the long run if bitcoin continues to rise in value versus the greenback — as it has done for the rest of its lifespan.
Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube
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