MassMutual diversifies with $100M worth of Bitcoin

MassMutual just bought $100 million worth of Bitcoin for its general investment fund.

Is that a big deal? Bulls like billionaire Mike Novogratz say it is. “This needs fed approval. It’s a HUGE deal,” he tweeted.

Think about it: a 168-year-old insurance giant, whose success hinges almost entirely on its ability to analyze and manage risk, bought Bitcoin for its potential upside. 

Why now? MassMutual chief investment officer Tim Corbett explained the move will help diversify its portfolio — which makes a lot of sense, considering how little BTC correlates with other assets like stocks.

Recent multi-million dollar buys by Jack Dorsey’s Square and the NASDAQ-listed MicroStrategy probably helped, too. 

There’s more. MassMutual also nabbed 5% stake in New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) for $5 million — a Bitcoin custody service for institutional players that boasts $2 billion in digital assets under management.

NYDIG founder Ross Stevens told the WSJ a number of other “return-hungry insurance companies” have also bought BTC due to a depreciating US dollar and near-zero interest rates.

Wet blanket. Keep in mind that MassMutual’s $100 million investment is small compared to the rest of its portfolio.

$100 million is just 0.04% of its $235 billion portfolio. Gotta start stacking somewhere, I guess.