Fidelity brings Bitcoin closer to Main Street

U.S. companies that use Fidelity to administer their 401k plan will now allow their U.S. plan members to allocate as much as 20% of their nest egg to Bitcoin. Along with President Biden’s recently announced executive order to assess the idea of a central bank digital dollar, crypto takes another major step towards Main Street.

Meanwhile, one of the main topics on Main Street continues to be the environment. To reconcile Bitcoin and the environment, Main Street will be taking a harder look at the carbon footprint of the Bitcoin funds it chooses to embrace.

If that includes you, you may want to explore the Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF, where a portion of our management fee is used to offset the carbon produced by the Bitcoin held in this ETF (management fee is 0.70%).

From Main Street to Bay Street, private credit is here to stay in Canada

We enjoyed reading this op-ed in Wealth Professional from Claire Van-Wyk Allan, Managing Director and Head of Canada for the Alternative Investment Management Association, the global industry group for hedge funds, private credit & digital assets. 

Van-Wyk Allan notes that in the US, UK and Europe, governments are actively fostering ‘Main Street funding Main Street’, referencing the newly created Long Term Asset Fund (UK) and the reformed European Long Term Investment Fund (EU) which will provide retail investors with greater access to private credit and unlock a new source of funding for UK and EU businesses.

Likewise, here in Canada, she argues that private credit fills an important gap in providing essential funding to the real Canadian economy and Canadian businesses, a vital capital lifeline to everyday businesses from Main Street and beyond, especially through difficult market environments like we’ve seen with the pandemic.

Helping to change the private credit narrative in Canada

At Ninepoint, we are Canada’s leading innovator in the alternative asset space. We provide investment solutions with the goal of improving portfolio diversification and risk-adjusted returns for investors. In doing so, we continue to see robust growth across our fund offerings.  Our assets under management grew 20% in 2021 and have continued to build this year with an incremental 9% growth in AUM since January 1^st (Q1-2022).

In 2021, we were also earmarked as the fastest growing ETF provider in Canada by Cerulli Associates.

But as you know, the private credit markets have faced some investor uncertainty in Canada. The scandal surrounding Bridging Finance (BFI) had cast a cloud over the Canadian private credit industry.

Ninepoint Partners LP (“Ninepoint”) and Bridging Finance Inc. (“Bridging Finance”) previously co-managed the Ninepoint Bridging Income Fund LP and Ninepoint Bridging Income RSP Fund. Ninepoint sold its interest in both funds to Bridging Finance in September 2018, at which point Ninepoint no longer had any business relationship with Bridging Finance. The Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC”) announced it was launching an investigation into Bridging Finance in May 2021.

Recently, Ninepoint approached the OSC to provide any additional information the OSC desired concerning Ninepoint’s past relationship with Bridging Finance. Ninepoint is pleased to report that, after a review by the OSC, it has received confirmation from the OSC that it is not the subject of any investigation arising from its dealings with Bridging Finance.

The Ninepoint Team!