A money manager to some of Hong Kong’s richest individuals will start investing in cryptocurrency, as more favourable regulations attract a wider array of investors to the digital-asset sector.
VMS Group, a multifamily office with just under US$4 billion in assets under management, plans to allocate up to US$10 million to strategies run by decentralised-finance hedge fund Re7 Capital, said VMS managing partner Elton Cheung in an interview. He added that the size of the allocation has not been finalised.
The decision is part of recent moves by VMS to diversify into more liquid investments, Cheung said. The firm has largely focused on private equity and other longer-duration strategies since it was founded two decades ago. While those investments have performed well, such types of assets have become less liquid as more companies opt to stay private for longer, making it more difficult to exit, he said.
VMS, which helps manage money for some of the city’s billionaire families from property to conglomerates, runs funds that invest in various sectors including internet and pharmaceuticals. In 2023, it teamed up with a former executive from the Hong Kong-headquartered artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group to look for early-stage investments in the technology.
Cheung declined to identify VMS’ clients.
Digital assets, meanwhile, have been gaining in popularity since Donald Trump was elected to the White House in November with a pro-cryptocurrency agenda that he has since begun enacting. Bitcoin has rallied about 50 per cent since the US election, and a blockbuster initial public offering by stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group this month has added to the momentum.
