Multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley has created a new crypto research team, featuring Sheela Shah as its head. The move comes as several Wall Street companies continue to press ahead with their investments in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
Morgan Stanley Launches Crypto Research Team Led By Sheela Shah
According to a Bloomberg report, Morgan Stanley has put together a research team to analyze the impact of cryptocurrencies on both equities and fixed income across the world. The bank has appointed Sheela Shah -- the current head of Group of 10, a foreign exchange strategy for Europe -- as the team’s lead analyst.
During her tenure with the team, Shah will be based in London where she will report to Adam Wood, who leads Morgan Stanley’s fintech and payments research team in Europe. Globally, she will be reporting to James Faucette, who leads the bank’s fintech and payments research team in the US.
Commenting on the importance of digital assets, Morgan Stanley’s David Adelman, Juliet Estridge, and Vishy Tirupattur noted in a memo:
Morgan Stanley’s Pioneering Crypto Strategy
Morgan Stanley is one of the first investment banks in the US to extend support to cryptocurrencies. Back in March, it became the “first big U.S. bank” to make three Bitcoin funds available to its clients. A month later, it filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to add Bitcoin exposure to its 12 mutual funds.
More recently, the bank revealed that it owns 928,058 shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). The shares are held collectively by Morgan Stanley Insight Fund, Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Inc, Morgan Stanley Variable Insurance Fund Inc, and Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Trust.
Many other banks have also ramped up their efforts to embrace cryptocurrencies. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Standard Chartered, Wells Fargo, and DBS have either begun or are in the process of introducing crypto services for their clients.