Vanguard, one of the worlds largest investment management firms, is now the biggest institutional shareholder of Strategy (MSTR) Michael Saylor's company best known for adopting Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset.According to data from investment research platform Intel, Vanguard has accumulated more than 20 million shares of MSTR, representing about 8% of MicroStrategys outstanding Class A common stock.
The stake gives Vanguard indirect exposure to over 200,000 Bitcoin (BTC) held on Strategys balance sheet, representing a 26.3% jump between January and April 2025.Many of Vanguards funds include exposure to the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, which holds MicroStrategy as part of its broad US equity allocation.
The stock also appears in dozens of Vanguard mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking mid-cap benchmarks.Vanguard is a longstanding skeptic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Despite becoming Strategys largest institutional shareholder, the firm has consistently warned clients about crypto volatility and, unlike rivals, has refused to offer access to spot Bitcoin ETFs.Vanguard Group owns over 20 million shares of MSTR.
Source: IntelOver the years, Vanguard has been one of the biggest Bitcoin and crypto bears in traditional finance.
And despite its exposure to Strategy, that attitudedoesntseem to be changing.In an interview with Bloomberg TV in May,VanguardCEO Salim Ramji was asked whether the company would accommodate a client who wants to add Bitcoin to their portfolio.
He declined, emphasizing that Vanguard does not getcaught up in the latest fad, butweredependable for the long term.Related: Strategy bags another $472M in BTC as Bitcoin jumps to new highsIn a recent interview withETF.com, Ramji said that Vanguard wasnot "in the business of making bets on speculative assets like Bitcoin," adding,Thatsjust not consistent with the investment philosophywevebuilt over 50 years."Meanwhile asset manager BlackRock has seen its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) quickly become thecompanysmost profitable ETF.
According to Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas,its on track to reach $100 billion in assets under management in the coming months.God has a sense of humorVanguards unexpected exposure to Bitcoin has shed light on the quirks of passive investing.Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas summed it up: When you have an index fund, you have to own all the stocks, for better or worse and that includes stocks you may not like or approve of personally.
He added that Vanguards outsized exposure to Strategy, a company synonymous with Bitcoin maximalism, is a reminder that God has a sense of humor.Magazine:Pakistan will deploy Bitcoin reserve in DeFi for yield, says Bilal Bin Saqib