Investment firm Fidelity argues that Bitcoin (BTC) is no longer a marginal asset within institutional investor portfolios and that its exclusion today requires clear justification.
“The central question is no longer whether Bitcoin deserves consideration in an investment portfolio, but rather, what is its current allocation and why?” the company said in a report published on March 25, 2026.
Along similar lines, he added that while a zero allocation may still be appropriate for some, institutional investors and fund managers “now need a solid justification for maintaining zero weight positions.” Furthermore, they say:
Ignoring Bitcoin as an investment asset no longer seems like a wise strategy. Even if an investor concludes that a zero allocation is appropriate, that decision should be the result of an informed process, not error or carelessness.
investment company Fidelity;
One of the central arguments of this document is Bitcoin’s historical performance. To support its claim, the company highlights that the currency created by Satoshi Nakamoto has been the best-performing asset in 11 of the past 15 years. To do so, you must at least evaluate it within your investment strategy.
“Historically, Bitcoin has provided the highest returns of any asset over multiple time periods,” the report claims. The company acknowledges that it is a volatile asset, but emphasizes that even when adjusted for risk, its metrics remain competitive compared to traditional classes.
The starting point for the report is the 10-year Asset Class Comparison chart, which analyzes key metrics such as total return, compound annual growth rate (CAGR), volatility (standard deviation), maximum drawdown, and risk-adjusted ratio.
As you can see, BTC stands out from the crowd. Highest total return (over 20,000%) and annual growth rate of nearly 70% during the periodmuch more than stocks, bonds, and commodities. At the same time, it has the highest volatility and steepest declines, confirming its high risk.
However, its assets also lead in terms of risk-adjusted returns when looking at metrics such as the Sharpe ratio (which measures how much additional return is earned for each unit of total risk) and the Sortino ratio (which penalizes drawdowns only).
It is precisely this combination (high profits and competitive efficiency indicators) that Fidelity to ensure that digital assets cannot be ignored within a portfolio.
The relationship between Bitcoin and gold
On the other hand, the report emphasizes the relationship between Bitcoin and gold. In this case, prices are not compared, but the relative performance of both assets over a 90-day moving window.
If the curve is above zero, it means BTC has outperformed gold in the past 90 days. Below that level, the opposite happens and it is gold that performs better relative.
For example, for most of 2023 and some of 2024, BTC clearly outperformed gold, with episodes where this difference exceeded 40%, 60%, and even reached 80%. Instead, there was a period at the end of 2021, at some point in 2022, and again into 2025 when gold started to take the lead and digital assets lagged by 30% to 50% compared to metals.
What Fidelity is trying to demonstrate with this alternating behavior is that BTC and gold They do not perform exactly the same function within a portfolio, nor do they react in the same way during all phases of the cycle.
There are times when the market favors BTC more, such as when liquidity generally awakens appetite for assets considered to be riskier, and other times when gold regains its haven status.
The company said the changes reinforce the idea that both assets can coexist within an investment strategy without canceling each other out. “Gold and Bitcoin tend to alternately outperform, but maintain a bullish trend over the long term,” the report explains.
Diversify your investment portfolio
Meanwhile, Fidelity experts emphasize that Bitcoin has a key characteristic of low correlation with other asset classes that allows it to be positioned as a complementary candidate within a diversified portfolio.
In other words, it does not necessarily mean that It has the same orientation as stocks, bonds, and commodities, reducing the overall risk of your portfolio.
“Historically, BTC has met these criteria without exhibiting significant correlation with major asset classes,” the document claims.
The correlation table included in the report shows Bitcoin’s relationship with various asset classes such as US stocks, global stocks, corporate bonds, US Treasuries, inflation-linked assets, gold, commodities, and real estate. From this matrix, Fidelity highlights that BTC maintains a relatively low correlation with most of these financial instruments.
The impact of incorporating Bitcoin into a traditional portfolio
The report also assesses what would have happened if Bitcoin had been added to a portfolio consisting of 60% stocks and 40% bonds (known as 60/40).
The following graph, titled “Initial 60/40 Portfolio with Added Various Amounts of Bitcoin (10 Years)” shows how the results change if you include allocations of 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10%.
As you can see, lower exposure improves annual returns and increases risk-adjusted metrics such as Sharpe and Sortino ratios.
For this reason, Fidelity specifically emphasizes that the most relevant efficiency gains occur between 1% and 3%.
for example, A 1% allocation increases the portfolio’s annual return from 9.44% to 11.25%.On the other hand, at 3%, the yield increases to 14.56% per year.
“Historically, conservative allocations have had a significant impact on portfolio performance,” the report summarizes.
Beyond historical data, Fidelity introduces a discussion of context. The firm believes traditional 60/40 portfolios may face particular structural challenges in the coming years. Depends on bond trends and stock valuation levels. In this scenario, assets with different dynamics begin to gain relevance within institutional analysis.
The report’s conclusions summarize that change in approach. The company notes that “developing a well-thought-out Bitcoin strategy has become important for a wide range of investors.”
Finally, this emphasizes your central point. Even if an investor decides not to allocate capital, that decision should be the result of conscious and informed analysis, not inertia or lack of evaluation.
But why Bitcoin?
The answer to this question is provided by BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset management companies. A report from CriptoNoticias defines Bitcoin as a “unique diversifying asset.”
By their nature, their inclusion in an investment portfolio is considered a form of exposure to products that are not directly dependent on the monetary policy of any country.
This is because BTC shares some properties with gold. among them, Supply will be limited to 21 million units and a pre-defined emissions scheme will be reduced by halving every four years.are factors that influence its supply dynamics over time.
Unlike fiat currencies, their issuance is not influenced by central bank decisions or monetary expansionary policies, and this vision positions currencies as assets with predictable rules in a financial environment increasingly conditioned by macroeconomic variables.
In this context, the debate is no longer just about whether BTC should be part of your portfolio; Rather, it depends on what level of exposure makes sense within each strategy.
