According to a report by Bloomberg, SBI intends to launch a fund that will invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.
The fund, according to Tomoya Asakura, President of SBI affiliate Morningstar Japan K.K., would be geared at investors who are familiar with crypto assets and their volatility. Investors may need to invest anywhere from $9,100 (1 million yen) to $27,200 (3 million yen).
According to the report, SBI wants to launch the first crypto asset fund by the end of November, with a second crypto asset fund to follow depending on performance. Asakura also alluded to SBI creating a separate crypto fund for institutional investors if the interest was high enough.
SBI had intended to launch its crypto fund as an investment trust, which is a common way to invest in Japan. However, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the country’s primary financial regulator, has prohibited corporations from selling crypto investments using this way. After that, the corporation modified its approach and will now offer its crypto fund to investors through an “anonymous collaboration.” Due to Japan’s strict laws, it took the company more than four years to get the fund up and running.
The SEC vs. Ripple case takes another turn, making investors bullish on XRP.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on 22 Dec,2020 that it has filed an action against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives, who are also significant security holders, alleging that they raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering.
- Ripple Holdings is still the largest public holder of XRP, and the payments giant is facing legal action. Since December 2020, this has had a persistent negative influence on the price of the native asset XRP.
- Recently, in the ongoing litigation, both Ripple and the SEC admit that Ripple owes no fiduciary duty to XRP holders. As a result, the XRP army is prepared to advocate for its own interests in the lawsuit.
- This indicates that the XRP community has stepped up to protect the altcoin from unfavourable price impact.
- Following a flash meltdown that saw the global crypto market value drop, the XRP price recovered primarily due to a spike in on-chain activity. XRP price rose 10% following a slight reversal, according to data from Santiment, a behavioural analytics platform, as address activity intensified.
- Further, positive developments in Ripple fuel the bullish narrative of XRP.
- SBI Holdings (Strategic Business Innovator Group) is working on a cryptocurrency fund that will invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and XRP. The announcement of the fund by the Japanese financial behemoth is a positive move for Ripple and is expected to boost the utility of the native asset XRP.
(Source:FXStreet, https://news.bitcoin.com)
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Novartis is well positioned for steady long-term growth. Strong intellectual property supporting multi-billion-dollar products, combined with an abundance of late-pipeline products, creates a wide economic moat. While patent losses on anemia drug Exjade and cancer drug Afinitor will weigh on near-term growth, a strong portfolio of drugs along with a robust pipeline should ensure steady long-term growth.
Novartis’ drug segment is poised for long-term growth driven by new pipeline products and existing drugs. Novartis’ strategy to focus largely in areas of unmet medical need should strengthen the firm’s pricing power. Additionally, Novartis differentiates itself by its sheer number of blockbusters, including Entresto for heart failure, Cosentyx for immunology diseases and Tasigna for cancer. Also, it has generated a strong late-stage pipeline with recent launches of migraine drug Aimovig and cancer drug Kisqali. Despite the patent losses on Exjade and Afinitor (and potentially multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya), the combination of a strong pipeline of new products and a diverse, well-positioned operating platform should translate into steady growth.
Financial Strength
Using estimates from the Congressional Budget Office for the impact of HR3, we previously estimated that U.S. branded drug sales could fall 21% below our current forecasts if international price benchmarking were applied to Medicare and private plans, with up to a 40% impact if such a system were applied to all drugs (the plan would likely only apply to a basket of drugs) and if drug firms were not able to offset these prices with international price increases. Based on our prior analysis of rebates in Medicaid and the VA, the impact of domestic reference pricing could also be sizeable, as high as 20%, if applied to all of Medicare (assuming no offsets).
Upcoming congressional proposals on lowering drug pricing as well as a recent plan from the Department of Health and Human Services have put U.S. drug pricing policy back in the spotlight. Congress is reconvening and will work to pass a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, and Politico reported that House Democrats plan to include Medicare drug price negotiation (along with other elements of the HR3 bill, which was originally introduced and passed in the House in 2019) in their budget reconciliation package.
Company Profile
Novartis AG develops and manufactures healthcare products through two segments: Innovative Medicines and Sandoz. It generates the vast majority of its revenue from Innovative Medicines segment consisting global business franchises in oncology, ophthalmology, neuroscience, immunology, respiratory, cardio-metabolic, and established medicines. The firm sells its products globally, with the United States representing close to one third of total revenue.
General Advice Warning
Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.