At a Glance
- Harvard University significantly increased its investment in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in the third quarter, raising its stake by over 250%.
- The university’s management company now holds over 6.8 million shares of IBIT, valued at approximately $442.8 million.
- This expanded investment marks IBIT as Harvard’s largest disclosed position and its most substantial increase in the third quarter.
- The move is considered a notable endorsement for ETFs, as endowments are typically hesitant to invest in them.
- Harvard also augmented its holdings in technology stocks, gold, and made a new investment in the fintech company Klarna.
Harvard Boosts Bitcoin ETF Holdings
Harvard University has considerably expanded its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). In the third quarter, the esteemed institution saw its investment surge by over 250%, following its initial entry into the fund earlier this year.
Harvard Management Company, the entity responsible for managing the university’s substantial $57 billion endowment fund, disclosed in a recent regulatory filing that it held more than 6.8 million shares of IBIT. As of September 30, these shares were valued at approximately $442.8 million.
This latest filing builds upon Harvard’s earlier disclosure in August, when it first revealed its position in IBIT. At that time, the university held around 1.9 million shares, valued at $116.6 million.
Endorsement for ETFs and Bitcoin
The significant investment by Harvard is being recognized as a major validation for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, commented that it is exceptionally rare and challenging to secure an endowment’s interest in an ETF, describing it as super rare/difficult to get an endowment to bite on an ETF. He further noted that such an investment serves as as good a validation as an ETF can get, while also pointing out that Harvard’s IBIT stake represents a small fraction, only about 1%, of its total endowment.
According to Balchunas, IBIT was Harvard’s largest investment reported in its filing and represented its biggest position increase in Q3. This considerable increase now positions Harvard as the 16th-largest holder of the ETF.
Balchunas had previously highlighted in August, following Harvard’s initial purchase of IBIT, that endowments are generally notably anti-ETF and represent the hardest institution to hook when it comes to adopting ETFs.
Diversified Investment Portfolio
Beyond its significant cryptocurrency exposure, Harvard University also increased its investments in other key sectors. The university maintained substantial holdings in major U.S. technology companies, including Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Additionally, Harvard ventured into the fintech space with a new investment totaling $16.8 million in the buy-now, pay-later service Klarna. The university also expanded its semiconductor exposure by acquiring $59.1 million worth of shares in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Harvard also nearly doubled its allocation to gold, increasing its share ownership in the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) ETF. The university now holds 661,391 shares, valued at $235.1 million, a substantial rise from the 333,000 shares it held in August.
Bitcoin Market Context
The increased institutional interest comes amidst fluctuating market conditions for Bitcoin. Data from SoSoValue indicates that Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows totaling $1.11 billion in the trading week ending on Friday. During this same period, the price of Bitcoin dipped below the $100,000 mark, trading under $95,000 and briefly erasing its year-to-date gains after falling to a low of $93,029 in the preceding 24 hours.
Expert Summary
Harvard University has substantially increased its investment in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), signaling strong conviction in the asset class. This move is viewed as a significant endorsement for ETFs, particularly given the typically cautious approach of university endowments toward such investment vehicles. The university also continues to diversify its portfolio with significant holdings in technology, gold, and fintech.
