AIMCo buys $219M Strategy stake in first Bitcoin link

Alberta Investment Management Corp. bought 1.38 million shares of Strategy Inc. worth about $219 million, according to a recent regulatory filing. The position is AIMCo’s first publicly disclosed allocation tied to Bitcoin exposure.

AIMCo manages Alberta’s pension plans, endowments and the province’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund.

The purchase joins several large Canadian investors that have built positions in Strategy. National Bank of Canada holds about 1.47 million shares valued near $273 million. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board opened a roughly 393,322-share position, worth about $127 million. Royal Bank of Canada expanded its holding into the roughly $230 million range, and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan disclosed about $31 million in shares.

Investors often buy Strategy stock to gain exposure to Bitcoin because the company holds the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Strategy reported holding 818,334 bitcoins at an average acquisition cost near $75,532 per coin.

Strategy has financed further Bitcoin purchases by issuing common stock and high-yield preferred shares. Those financings increase corporate leverage and can dilute the amount of Bitcoin attributable to each share over time.

Analysts responsible for public funds have raised fiduciary concerns about using an equity proxy instead of direct crypto custody. Some institutional positions in Strategy have shown paper losses above 60% during prior market downturns.

AIMCo has not commented publicly. Its next quarterly institutional filing should indicate whether the manager plans to increase the position or treat it as a tactical holding.