NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

The world's biggest wealth manager won't touch bitcoin

By Patrick Winters
Bloomberg·
18 Nov, 2017 01:47 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Mark Haefele of UBS speaks during a Bloomberg interview. Photo / Michael Nagle
Mark Haefele of UBS speaks during a Bloomberg interview. Photo / Michael Nagle

Mark Haefele of UBS speaks during a Bloomberg interview. Photo / Michael Nagle

UBS Group, the world's largest wealth manager, isn't prepared to make portfolio allocations to bitcoin because of a lack of government oversight, the bank's chief investment officer said.

Bitcoin has also not reached the critical mass to be considered a viable currency to invest in, UBS' Mark Haefele said in an interview with Bloomberg.

The total sum of all cryptocurrencies is "not even the size of some of the smaller currencies" that UBS would allocate to, he said.

Bitcoin has split investors over the viability of the volatile cryptocurrency and UBS is among its critics.

Bitcoin capped a resurgent week by climbing within a few dollars of a record $8000 (NZ$11,700) on Friday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Still, events such as a bitcoin-funded terrorist attack are potential risks which are hard to evaluate, he said.

"All it would take would be one terrorist incident in the US funded by bitcoin for the US regulator to much more seriously step in and take action, he said.

"That's a risk, an unquantifiable risk, bitcoin has that another currency doesn't."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While skeptics have called bitcoin's rapid advance a bubble, it has become too big an asset for many financial firms to ignore.

Bitcoin has gained 17 per cent this week, touching a high of $7997.17 during Asia hours before moving lower in late trading.

There is a risk of funding terrorism says Haefele. Photo / 123RF
There is a risk of funding terrorism says Haefele. Photo / 123RF

The rally through Friday came after bitcoin wiped out as much as $38 billion (NZ$55.7 billion) in market capitalisation following the cancellation of a technology upgrade known as SegWit2x on November 8.

UBS Chairman Axel Weber this month said Bitcoin was a speculative investment and not a store of value, while Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam described the speculation around bitcoin as the "very definition of a bubble".

Discover more

Business

Facebook tool reveals exposure to Russian disinformation

22 Nov 06:09 PM

JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon has called bitcoin "a fraud" that will eventually blow up.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin last month flagged the risk of cryptocurrencies being used for money laundering, tax evasion and funding for terrorism.

Still, he stopped short of backing a broad ban in the country.

Bitcoin isn't government-sponsored and some may use it to avoid oversight, a situation that's "unlikely to persist forever", Haefele said.

UBS' Haefele sees the bank's own research into bitcoin as an opportunity to engage with clients on questions such as the role of currencies and speculative assets in a portfolio.

Still, CME Group, the world's largest exchange owner, has said it plans to introduce bitcoin futures by the end of the year, citing pent-up demand from clients.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That pushes bitcoin closer to the mainstream by making it easier to trade without the hassles of owning the currency directly.

"The thing that always strikes me about these, quote unquote, investments is not really when you would get into it but when you would get out of it," Haefele said.

"So how do you know when to get out of a bitcoin investment?"

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Shares

Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

10 Jul 06:22 AM
Technology

Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

10 Jul 05:00 AM
Premium
Energy

NZ's LNG import plan could cost up to $1b, report reveals

10 Jul 04:00 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Te Pāti Māori selects former broadcaster for Tāmaki Makaurau byelection
Politics

Te Pāti Māori selects former broadcaster for Tāmaki Makaurau byelection

10 Jul 08:58 AM
France overhaul squad for second All Blacks test
All Blacks

France overhaul squad for second All Blacks test

10 Jul 08:13 AM
Man sentenced for taking boy to secluded spot and photographing him without togs on
New Zealand

Man sentenced for taking boy to secluded spot and photographing him without togs on

10 Jul 08:00 AM
Inside the world’s swankiest ski hotels
Travel

Inside the world’s swankiest ski hotels

10 Jul 08:00 AM
State of emergency declared for Tasman region, severe weather warnings across NZ
New Zealand

State of emergency declared for Tasman region, severe weather warnings across NZ

10 Jul 07:04 AM

Latest from Business

Premium
Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

Market close: NZ shares flat as Australian regulator clears path for Fonterra consumer sale

10 Jul 06:22 AM

The NZ sharemarket was steady, while the Nasdaq hit another record high in the US.

Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

Top 5 takeaways from Samsung's super-slim foldable phone and watch event

10 Jul 05:00 AM
Premium
NZ's LNG import plan could cost up to $1b, report reveals

NZ's LNG import plan could cost up to $1b, report reveals

10 Jul 04:00 AM
Number of Kiwis leaving for Oz in 2024 highest in more than a decade

Number of Kiwis leaving for Oz in 2024 highest in more than a decade

10 Jul 01:58 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search