When a virus takes over the whole: will the old way saves an investor portfolio or the new?

Akakpo, Theophile Junior Ekoue (2021) When a virus takes over the whole: will the old way saves an investor portfolio or the new? Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

My research question for the master’s Thesis is to take a specific period of uncertainty that we experienced and assess if Bitcoin offers the same property of safe haven as Gold. This paper will not stop at just look at the effect on two instruments in a portfolio but try to figure out which one of performed better.

Looking at the banking and financial services one thing constant is change. The transformation in the financial industry aims to lower the barrier to entry and increase competition at first then that evolves into redefine the system. With the introduction of Bitcoin and the blockchain technology we experienced a massive impact to the banking industry. While at the beginning it created sensation between the believers and the non-believers with time the acceptance of this new technology is increasing, and more people are starting to give it a chance. Years after its creation Bitcoin was persona not grata with Wall Street banks with even some banning their employees to buy or sell the instrument. However, in 2021, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. after restarting their trading desk introduces new Bitcoin derivatives to its clients as demand for the instruments grew over the year within Institutional investors.

The avalanche of the demand of the cryptocurrency after the period of the Covid-19 shows that there is a shift of the mentality about the asset. Was the pandemic, the perfect period to demonstrate that Bitcoin can be a safe haven asset during a period of uncertainty in the market?

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Bitcoin; diversifier; hedge; safe haven; Modern Portfolio Theory; diversification; mean-variance; Gold
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance > Money > Currency H Social Sciences > HG Finance > Investment
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Science in Finance
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	24 Feb 2022 16:22
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2022 16:22
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5482

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