A pension fund for firefighters in Houston has made a purchase in bitcoin and ether facilitated by bitcoin investment firm NYDIG.
- The Houston Firefighters? Relief and Retirement Fund?s (HFRRF) purchase marks the first time a public pension plan in the U.S. has announced an investment in digital assets, according to an announcement Thursday.
- The fund has invested $25 million in bitcoin and ether, though it has not disclosed how this is split between the two. The fund holds over $4 billion in total assets, according to Bloomberg.
- ?I see this as another tool to manage my risk,? Bloomberg quoted Ajit Singh, the chief investment officer for fund, as saying. ?It has a positive expected return, and it manages my risk. It has a low correlation to every other asset class.?
- The investment was made via bitcoin investment firm NYDIG, which is providing the custody for the crypto purchased.
- The HFRRF membership is composed of 6,600 active and retired firefighters and their families. Since 2004, active firefighters have contributed 9% of their salary to the fund, with the City of Houston required to contribute at least double that amount by state statue.
Read more: New Jersey Pension Invested $7M in Bitcoin Mining Stocks Last Quarter
UPDATE (Oct. 21, 14:45 UTC): Updated with information and quotes in the second and third bullet points.