Capital Group, an American[1] financial services company and one of the world’s oldest investment management organizations, has prohibited its associates and their immediate family members from investing in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs[2]), according to an upgraded Code of Ethics[3] filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC[4]) April 19.
The updated Code of Ethics emphasized the new guidelines and policies towards Initial Public Offerings (IPOs[5]) and ICOs, saying:
“All associates and immediate family members residing in the same household may not participate in IPOs or ICOs.”
The document further explains that Capital Group may make rare exceptions for IPOs, but they will be considered “on a case-by-case basis”. Regarding ICOs, the document offers no exceptions, stating that the prohibition of ICO investments “applies to all Capital associates.” The code of ethics update does not mention whether the ban extends to investments made on behalf of clients.
In March, the SEC announced[6] its plans to examine up to 100 hedge funds that deal with cryptocurrencies. While the examiners will inspect whether the assets purchased by fund managers match those advertised to investors in offering statements, the key purpose of the initiative is to inform the SEC as to how their policies should address cryptocurrencies.
Last month, the South Korean government banned its officials[7] from holding and trading cryptocurrency[8], stating that employees involved in digital currency trading are “in violation of the prohibition of forbearance obligations under the civil servants’ law” and are subject to disciplinary actions.
