By Gregory Zuckerman

Capital Group is a 94-year-old mutual-fund juggernaut known for its disciplined investing style. Mark Casey, a portfolio manager with 25 years of experience at the firm, quotes pioneering value-investor Benjamin Graham and says his "approach is very informed by Warren Buffett."

That is why it is so surprising that Capital Group has placed a huge bet on bitcoin -- one of the largest by a mainstream investment firm -- and that Casey has emerged as one of most outspoken backers of the digital currency in the so-called TradFi world.

"I just love bitcoin, I just think it is so interesting," Casey, 54, said on a podcast interview hosted by venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz last year, calling it "one of the coolest things that has ever been created by people."

In the past four years, Casey and his firm have turned less than $1 billion into more than $6 billion with investments in Strategy and other so-called bitcoin treasury companies whose sole focuses are loading up on the cryptocurrency.

Behind the bullishness: A view that bitcoin is replacing gold as a modern-day means of storing value -- and will prove more useful than gold. Over time, bitcoin's price will rise, Casey and some others at Capital Group argue, catching up to or even exceeding the value of gold, which currently accounts for roughly 2% of global wealth according to some estimates. By contrast, Casey is dubious other cryptocurrencies will ever prove valuable, even as rivals pile into ether.

Some analysts and others at mainstream financial firms doubt bitcoin will ever rival gold, which has held value for thousands of years and has been soaring lately. Other mainstream investors have struggled to place a value on companies focused on bitcoin, raising questions about Capital Group's enthusiasm.

"The investment in bitcoin-related stocks is surprising," says Morningstar analyst Stephen Welch. "Typically, you are investing in a company with assets and cash flows, and in this case, you are investing in a relatively untested currency, expecting the value to increase."

Casey says he and some colleagues evaluate Strategy and other companies buying up bitcoin the same way they scrutinize those that mine, refine and trade physical commodities like gold and oil.

"We view bitcoin as a commodity," Casey says.

Capital Group is one of the oldest and largest "active" investment managers. The Los Angeles firm, whose American Funds have been a staple in brokerage accounts for nearly a century, manages $3 trillion. Each of its mutual funds has as many as 12 portfolio managers, like Casey, who independently manage parts of the funds.

The firm spurned some past investing frenzies, such as the dot-com craze in the late 1990s, even as some clients clamored for those stocks. But it was early to the bitcoin craze, in large part due to Casey's fervor.

In 2013, Casey joined a group of investors in a meeting with Wences Casares, an early bitcoin advocate. Casey became a believer but as a mutual-fund manager didn't have a way to invest in the digital currency until Michael Saylor turned his software company MicroStrategy, now known as Strategy, into a bitcoin whale.

In 2021, Capital Group spent over $500 million to buy a 12.3% stake in Strategy. That made the firm Strategy's second-largest holder after Saylor, its founder. The mutual fund's stake -- which has shrunk to 7.89% after some sales but mostly because the company issued new shares -- is now valued at $6.2 billion after a more than 2,248% surge of the stock over the past five years.

Strategy shares have run into headwinds, though, falling roughly 16% in the past month. Some investors question the need for a stockholding bitcoin when bitcoin exchange-traded funds and other vehicles offer other ways to bet on the digital currency.

This year, Casey and some colleagues also purchased 5% of Metaplanet, a Japanese hotel operator that last year began buying up bitcoin and counts Eric Trump as an adviser. That stock is up nearly 70% so far in 2025, though its shares have fallen about 39% in the past month. Capital Group also owns shares of Mara Holdings, a bitcoin mining company that is down 2.74% this year.

The bitcoin investments are small relative to the firm's assets but offer a powerful endorsement. Casey appears at bitcoin conferences and attended a New Year's Eve party at Saylor's home in Miami celebrating bitcoin topping $100,000.

Casey is a graduate of Yale University, where he demonstrated a quirky sense of humor. In November, when daylight-saving time transitioned back to standard time, he would throw a one-hour party that started and ended at 2 a.m., which he called "The Party That Never Happened." He received an M.B.A. at Harvard University, educating himself about investing by reading all of Buffett's investor letters and joining Capital Group in 2000 in Silicon Valley.

Some established business figures, including BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink, have softened their stance on crypto. Others, though, including Buffett, remain wary. JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, who has called bitcoin a useless "pet rock," remains personally skeptical of cryptocurrencies.

As for Casey, he hasn't wavered in his own belief. Lately, he has told people he's looking for new ways to invest in bitcoin.

Write to Gregory Zuckerman at Gregory.Zuckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 14, 2025 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

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