Crypto and ‘meme stocks’ shunned by 90% of UK financial advisers

More than 90% of 200 independent financial advisers (IFA) in the United Kingdom who participated in a recent poll by research agency Opinium indicated negative cryptocurrency sentiments, with over one-third reporting an increase in cryptocurrency-related inquires from clients since the start of the year.

Quoting figures from the poll, Reuters reported on Wednesday that 93% of surveyed IFAs would not recommend crypto investment vehicles to their clients.

A similar negative sentiment also showed for meme stocks — a term used to describe shares of companies whose values are often driven by retail trading mania. As part of the figures, 95% of polled IFAs also said they would not recommend meme stocks as viable investment options for their clients.

Details from the survey also showed that 90%–95% of IFAs advising clients with portfolios between $140,000 to $280,000 and above $280,000 would be concerned if those same clients invested in cryptocurrencies. Opinium research chief Alexa Nightingale told IFA Magazine:

“There is clearly uncertainty and concern in the industry, and advisors with clients of all sizes would be wary if their clients were investing in these products. However, these sorts of investments are becoming more mainstream, so it will be interesting to see how advisers navigate this in future.”

Related: Bank of England governor issues crypto investment warning

The IFA survey is consistent with the negative sentiments espoused by legacy finance figures in the country. Both the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England have sounded cryptocurrency investment warnings in recent times.

However, cryptocurrency adoption continues to grow in the U.K., with a recent survey showing that more Brits invested in digital currencies than stocks in 2020.

Despite most IFAs being anti-crypto, more than a third of the surveyed advisers agreed that crypto will become a legitimate asset class in the future. A slightly lower proportion — 24% — offered the same prediction for meme stocks.