Key Takeaways
- • Simon Nixon's London-based family office, Seek Capital, plans to increase its allocation to crypto, with managing director Adam Proctor calling the sector "an important area for the future" (Bloomberg).
- • Seek Capital is looking to hire an analyst to focus on the crypto sector; Proctor joined this year from Citigroup Inc.'s private bank.
- • A recent Goldman Sachs Group Inc. survey found nearly half the family offices it works with want to add digital currencies to their investments, seeing crypto as a possible hedge against higher inflation and prolonged low interest rates.
- • Bitcoin has rebounded more than 50% since mid-July 2021, with Ethereum, Cardano's ADA and Dogecoin also rising on signs of mainstream acceptance.
Summary
Billionaire Simon Nixon plans to bolster his crypto investments as more of the world's ultra-rich embrace digital assets, according to Bloomberg. His family office, Seek Capital, is aiming to increase its "allocation to crypto as we feel it is an important area for the future," Adam Proctor, a managing director for the London-based firm, said in a statement. The firm is also looking to hire an analyst to focus on the sector. Proctor joined this year from Citigroup Inc.'s private bank.
Family office interest in cryptocurrencies has held up in 2021 even as prices have swung sharply. Bitcoin has rebounded more than 50% since mid-July, and other coins including Ethereum, Cardano's ADA and Dogecoin have also risen, driven by signs of mainstream acceptance. A recent Goldman Sachs Group Inc. survey found that nearly half the family offices it does business with want to add digital currencies to their investments, with the closely held firms viewing crypto as a possible hedge against higher inflation and prolonged low interest rates.
Other wealthy investors have made similar moves. Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego disclosed in November that he had placed a portion of his liquid funds in Bitcoin. Michael Novogratz and Christian Angermayer's family office are founders of Cryptology Asset Group, which pledged in June to allocate $100 million over the next two years to crypto-related funds. Novogratz's net worth is about $5 billion, largely due to shares in his crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital Holdings more than doubling this year through Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Nixon, 54, co-founded price-comparison site Moneysupermarket.com as a mortgage-listings company in 1993 and finished selling his shares in the company in 2016. According to his London-based venture capital firm, Seek Ventures, he manages more than $1 billion of personal assets in the tech sector. The move comes amid a global boom in family offices, fueled by tech fortunes from figures such as Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt. Campden Wealth estimated family office assets at almost $6 trillion globally in 2019.
Family office interest in cryptocurrencies has held up in 2021 even as prices have swung sharply. Bitcoin has rebounded more than 50% since mid-July, and other coins including Ethereum, Cardano's ADA and Dogecoin have also risen, driven by signs of mainstream acceptance. A recent Goldman Sachs Group Inc. survey found that nearly half the family offices it does business with want to add digital currencies to their investments, with the closely held firms viewing crypto as a possible hedge against higher inflation and prolonged low interest rates.
Other wealthy investors have made similar moves. Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego disclosed in November that he had placed a portion of his liquid funds in Bitcoin. Michael Novogratz and Christian Angermayer's family office are founders of Cryptology Asset Group, which pledged in June to allocate $100 million over the next two years to crypto-related funds. Novogratz's net worth is about $5 billion, largely due to shares in his crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital Holdings more than doubling this year through Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Nixon, 54, co-founded price-comparison site Moneysupermarket.com as a mortgage-listings company in 1993 and finished selling his shares in the company in 2016. According to his London-based venture capital firm, Seek Ventures, he manages more than $1 billion of personal assets in the tech sector. The move comes amid a global boom in family offices, fueled by tech fortunes from figures such as Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt. Campden Wealth estimated family office assets at almost $6 trillion globally in 2019.
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