比特币：英国养老金计划在投资加密货币后被贴上“极不负责任”的标签

这个未命名的固定福利计划成为英国第一个大幅下跌的计划，上个月使用其 3% 的资产购买了加密货币。

A UK pension scheme has become the first to invest in Bitcoin.

英国养老金计划成为第一个投资比特币的计划。

The defined-benefit scheme, which has not been named, used 3% of its assets to buy into the cryptocurrency last month.

该固定收益计划（尚未透露名称）上个月使用其 3% 的资产购买了加密货币。

Pension specialist Cartwright acted as an adviser to the scheme and said the allocation was a “strategic move that not only offers diversification but also taps into an asset class with a unique asymmetric risk-return profile”.

养老金专家卡特赖特担任该计划的顾问，并表示此次分配是“一项战略举措，不仅提供了多元化，而且还利用了具有独特的不对称风险回报特征的资产类别”。

It claimed its approach meant the scheme could benefit from a significant potential bonus while limiting the possible negative outcomes.

它声称其方法意味着该计划可以从巨大的潜在奖金中受益，同时限制可能的负面结果。

But some experts seem less enthusiastic about the decision, warning it bordered on “gambling with retirees' futures”.

但一些专家似乎对这一决定不那么热心，警告称这近乎“拿退休人员的未来进行赌博”。

“This is a very strange decision. Pension funds should surely be investing for the long term rather than speculating over the short-term,” Colin Low, managing director at Kingsfleet, told Newspage.

“这是一个非常奇怪的决定。 Kingsfleet 董事总经理 Colin Low 告诉 Newspage，养老基金肯定应该进行长期投资，而不是进行短期投机。

“It is ironic that a pension fund, having one of the longest investment time horizons, should speculate its beneficiaries' assets on something that has no intrinsic value.”

“具有讽刺意味的是，拥有最长投资期限之一的养老基金竟然将其受益人的资产投机于没有内在价值的东西。”

Daniel Wiltshire, actuary at Wiltshire Wealth, added: “This is deeply irresponsible. Pension trustees have an obligation to ensure scheme assets are managed prudently.

威尔特郡财富精算师丹尼尔·威尔特郡补充道：“这是非常不负责任的。养老金受托人有义务确保计划资产得到审慎管理。

“This precludes taking punts on a basketcase asset class like crypto. For the sake of the members, I hope the regulator is paying attention.”

“这阻止了对加密货币等一揽子资产类别进行押注。为了会员的利益，希望监管部门重视。”

Why are people so concerned?

为什么人们如此担心？

Bitcoin is the largest and oldest cryptocurrency, although other assets like ethereum, tether and dogecoin have also gained popularity over the years.

比特币是最大、最古老的加密货币，尽管以太坊、泰达币和狗狗币等其他资产多年来也越来越受欢迎。

Some investors see cryptocurrency as a “digital alternative” to traditional money - but it is very volatile, with its price reliant on larger market conditions.

一些投资者将加密货币视为传统货币的“数字替代品”，但它的波动性很大，其价格取决于更大的市场状况。

Pension scheme trustees tend to be against taking big risks with retirees' funds.

养老金计划受托人往往反对用退休人员的资金冒大风险。

Advice from the Financial Conduct Authority states “you should never invest money into crypto that you can't afford to lose” and warns people to be prepared to lose all their money.

金融行为监管局的建议指出，“你永远不应该将资金投资于你无法承受损失的加密货币”，并警告人们做好失去所有资金的准备。

And, while a 3% allocation doesn't sound like a lot, it's enough to make an impact on the pension fund's performance.

而且，虽然 3% 的分配听起来不多，但足以对养老基金的业绩产生影响。

This means that if Bitcoin continues to skyrocket, it could boost the scheme in a big way, but equally if it sinks, it could have a significant negative impact.

这意味着，如果比特币继续飙升，它可能会大大推动该计划的发展，但同样，如果比特币下跌，也可能会产生重大的负面影响。

As a defined pension scheme, it does mean the risk is being taken by the employer should there not be enough assets to meet future pension payments, rather than being borne by members.

作为一项固定养老金计划，这确实意味着如果没有足够的资产来支付未来的养老金，风险将由雇主承担，而不是由成员承担。

Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, says plenty of people have bought crypto personally, but it's harder to make the case for investing in it to diversify a pension portfolio.

AJ Bell 投资分析主管 Laith Khalaf 表示，很多人都亲自购买了加密货币，但很难证明投资加密货币以实现养老金投资组合多元化的理由。

“While the price of Bitcoin is currently riding high, in the past we've seen strong performance quickly giving way to dramatic price falls. That in itself is a big hindrance to Bitcoin being adopted by consumers and businesses as a means of exchange,” he says.

“虽然比特币的价格目前居高不下，但在过去，我们看到强劲的表现很快就被价格大幅下跌所取代。这本身就是比特币被消费者和企业采用作为交换手段的一大障碍，”他说。

“If you think Bitcoin is the future of currency despite its volatility, ask yourself if you'd be willing to be paid by your employer or billed by your mortgage provider in the cryptocurrency.

“如果你认为比特币是货币的未来，尽管它具有波动性，那么问问你自己，你是否愿意用加密货币由你的雇主支付费用或由你的抵押贷款提供商收取费用。

“It's possible Bitcoin will thrive and prove its doubters wrong, but it's also possible it will ultimately become worthless.”

“比特币有可能会蓬勃发展并证明其怀疑者是错误的，但也有可能它最终会变得一文不值。”

Just last week, it hit a record high above $£99,000 - but less than two years before that it dropped below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

就在上周，它创下了 99,000 美元以上的历史新高，但不到两年前，随着加密货币交易所 FTX 的崩溃，它跌破了 17,000 美元。

Some experts believe the potential pay-off means an investment in Bitcoin is a risk worth taking.

一些专家认为，潜在的回报意味着投资比特币是值得承担的风险。

Chris Barry, a director of Thomas Legal, says that anything less than a 5% allocation is “sensible”, and UK pension funds need to catch up to their US equivalents who have been investing in crypto for years.

Thomas Legal 董事 Chris Barry 表示，低于 5% 的分配比例都是“合理的”，英国养老基金需要赶上多年来一直投资加密货币的美国同行。

“Bitcoin is the top performing asset class over the past 10 years on average, even beating the NASDAQ. The direction of travel following Trump winning the US election is very bullish indeed,” he adds.

“比特币是过去 10 年平均表现最好的资产类别，甚至超过了纳斯达克指数。特朗普赢得美国大选后的发展方向确实非常乐观，”他补充道。

David Belle, founder and trader at Fink Money, has a similar view, saying a pension scheme portfolio is about numbers trying to deliver a return.

Fink Money 的创始人兼交易员 David Belle 也有类似的观点，他表示养老金计划投资组合的重点是试图带来回报的数字。

“A portfolio is just numbers made up of different betas, assets which either outperform or underperform a benchmark. Crypto is a fine asset class if it fits risk appetite

“投资组合只是由不同贝塔值组成的数字，这些资产要么跑赢基准，要么跑输基准。如果加密货币符合风险偏好，那么它就是一种优秀的资产类别