I find it both amusing and troubling how Edward Jones Financial Services firm is handling their clients wanting to invest in Bitcoin, either holding it directly or buying shares of a Bitcoin ETF.
Edward Jones has a policy
against clients directly purchasing or holding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin,
including through Bitcoin ETFs and other related investment products.
Edward Jones considers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to be highly speculative investments due to their price volatility, lack of underlying fundamentals (like company profits or assets), and regulatory uncertainty. Edward Jones doesn't allow clients to purchase or hold cryptocurrencies, futures contracts on cryptocurrencies, or funds (ETFs/ETNs) that directly own cryptocurrencies.
The firm's rationale emphasizes following time-tested investment principles and focuses on investments with established track records and clear valuations. They also express concerns about the potential for illicit activities involving cryptocurrency.
Edward Jones Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain - A Technology and Financial Services Sector Report - Dated November, 2024 (Linked below)
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https://www.edwardjones.com/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2023-07/bitcoin-cryptocurrencies-and-blockchain-ca.pdf
Then we have Vanguard! 
Vanguard, the $10 trillion asset manager has famously refused to touch Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies while its peers have jumped headfirst in the past year.However, Vanguard is the largest shareholder in MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), a firm whose value proposition is that it is the most established Bitcoin proxy in the stock market!
Vanguard owns more than 20 million shares of all of MicroStrategys outstanding class A shares, worth over $9 billion.
The disconnect between Vanguards professed cryptocurrency stance and its financial holdings primarily comes from its passive index fund strategies through funds like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (NASDAQ:VITSX), Vanguard Extended Market Index (NASDAQ:VIEIX) and the Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF (NYSE:VUG).
Vanguard also has exposure to MicroStrategy in some of its actively managed funds. Still, the firm maintains that this is not the result of conviction but the fact that those funds are comprised of stocks chosen by mathematical models.
