Cowen Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Solomon is in the camp that says regulation of some kind for the surging cryptocurrency space would be a good thing.
“I am very much in that camp. We have done amazing things in this country, in particular, around regulation that allows people to invest in financial assets without what I would call adverse risks,” said Solomon on Yahoo Finance Live.
Solomon’s comments come as Cowen prepares to push deeper into the crypto space in 2022. In preparation for that, Cowen inked a partnership with PolySign earlier this year. The tie-up enables Cowen to better cater to its institutional clients when it comes to cryptocurrencies and digital assets in their portfolios.
Cowen also invested $25 million in PolySign as part of the relationship.
Added Solomon, “I just think as we put rails around crypto, reality will sink in and institutions will show up more. “So to me, regulation is a real positive.”
Even without a large crypto business, Cowen has been performing admirably this year amid its exposure to SPACs and M&A advice.
Third quarter sales rose 31% from a year ago. Assets under management improved $3 billion year-over-year to $14.8 billion.
“The SPAC market has been around for 20 years. It has just grown in the last year and a half. You have got companies with capital looking for acquisitions. There has been a lot of debate on whether that is sustainable long-term. I will tell you for the next two years there is going to be a lot of money walking around looking for transactions, which is good for us at Cowen,” said Solomon, referring to the SPAC market outlook.
Shares of Cowen have surged 52% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500’s 25% return. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund has gained 35% this year.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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