Morgan Stanley is expanding its crypto product suite with two new exchange-traded funds that track Ether and Solana, following what the report described as the strong rollout of its spot Bitcoin ETF.
The bank said Tuesday that Morgan Stanley Ether Trust (MSSE) and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL) will list on NYSE Arca, giving investors a way to access ETH and SOL through traditional securities accounts without directly holding or custodying the tokens themselves.
0.14% fee for both products
Both new funds will charge a 0.14% management fee. The report said that level is currently the lowest in the market. Morgan Stanley also plans to stake part of the Ether and SOL held by the funds and pass all staking proceeds back to investors.
Follows the firm’s Bitcoin ETF strategy
The two launches continue the playbook Morgan Stanley used for Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT). That Bitcoin ETF was listed earlier this year, and its assets under management had surpassed $381 million as of July 16.
Solana ETF competition is building
Since the U.S. approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, Wall Street firms have kept adding crypto investment products. The report said Ether ETFs have been gaining a firmer foothold in the market, while Solana ETFs have turned into a new area of competition among institutions.
Data from SoSoValue cited in the article showed there are already eight Solana-related ETFs on the market, with total net assets of $889 million.
Morgan Stanley points to rising client demand
“Digital assets are increasingly becoming a part of diversified portfolios that cannot be ignored,” said Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley’s head of digital asset strategy.
She added that as client interest in digital assets keeps growing, Morgan Stanley will continue to offer a broader range of investment tools so investors can allocate between traditional financial assets and decentralized assets, while keeping all products aligned with the firm’s standards for governance, infrastructure, and risk management.
Distribution reach through wealth management and E*TRADE
The report also noted that Morgan Stanley has a built-in distribution advantage over many other ETF issuers. Its wealth management unit includes about 16,000 financial advisors and oversees $9 trillion in client assets.
The firm also owns the brokerage platform E*TRADE, which gives it direct access to millions of self-directed retail investors. The article said that reach is expected to channel substantial capital into the two funds.
Wall Street keeps adding crypto products
The report pointed to broader product innovation across Wall Street as well. BlackRock, described as the largest issuer of spot Bitcoin ETFs, recently launched its first crypto ETF built around an income-oriented strategy aimed at investors who want long-term Bitcoin exposure while also seeking steady cash flow.