Morgan Stanley reduces management fee for ETH and SOL ETFs to a record low of 0.14%
Traditional finance giant Morgan Stanley continues to aggressively expand its presence in the cryptocurrency ETF market. In updated S-1 filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company announced a reduction in management fees for spot ETFs on Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) to 0.14%.
This move makes Morgan Stanley not just a participant, but a price leader in the segment. For comparison, products from Grayscale Investments and Franklin Templeton, which have long dominated in terms of assets under management, charge fees of 0.25% and higher. The 0.11% difference is not merely a marketing gimmick, but direct savings for institutional investors operating billion-dollar portfolios.
Staking: A New Source of Income
The staking fee structure deserves special attention. The updated documents indicate that Morgan Stanley will retain 5% of staking rewards earned from the fund's assets. This is standard practice for ETFs participating in Proof-of-Stake, but it is important to note that the company does not charge an additional fee for the staking process itself — only a percentage of the reward.
From a product economics perspective, this approach allows the fund to remain competitive even with zero growth in the underlying asset's price. At current yield rates for Solana (around 6-7% annually) and Ethereum (around 3-4%), the net income for ETF holders after deducting the staking fee remains attractive.
Analytical Conclusion
Reducing the fee to 0.14% is a strategic move aimed at capturing market share. Morgan Stanley clearly expects that the low cost of ownership will be a decisive factor for institutional allocations. Given that the company already has one of the largest networks of financial advisors in the U.S., this step could trigger a wave of capital outflows from the more expensive products of Grayscale and Franklin Templeton.
In my view, we are witnessing the beginning of a price war in the crypto-ETF segment. If Morgan Stanley can maintain such fees while scaling, it will pose a serious challenge to all competitors. Investors should closely monitor the inflow volumes into these funds in the first weeks following SEC approval.