Hong Kong fund manager, CSOP Asset Management, has announced the debut of the CSOP Metaverse Concept ETF, the first of its kind in Hong Kong.
The actively managed fund started trading on 21 February.
“The metaverse represents the beginning of a brand new era, in which a parallel new world will be created. As the latest and one of the most important members of the CSOP thematic ETF series, CSOP Metaverse Concept ETF is our attempt at something new and futuristic,” said Melody He, deputy CEO.
The so-called “metaverse” refers to shared three-dimensional virtual worlds that enable highly immersive virtual collaborations and interactions between large volumes of concurrent users. The metaverse will also combine physical spaces, two-dimensional Internet experiences with virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.
The metaverse global market size is expected to grow to $1.5trn in 2030 from $5m in 2020, accounting for a compound annual growth rate of 253%, according to data from Bloomberg and PricewaterhouseCoopers data, noted CSOP.
Portfolio composition
The fund covers 46 companies in the metaverse area in the US market, making up four themes identified by the asset manager, namely: metaverse infrastructure, metaverse engineering, metaverse content and metaverse application.
The fund invests 6% each of its AUM in internet giant Meta Platforms, online game platforms Roblox and Unity, semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia, and technology company Apple. As of early February, the total market cap of these companies is $5.2trn.
“These companies represent advanced technological progress in the forthcoming metaverse, ranging from infrastructure and engineering to application and content,” said the asset manager.
The new ETF is priced at HK$7.8 ($1) per unit, with a trading lot of 100 shares and an annual management fee of 0.99%.
Upon inception, the fund has received around $9m initial investment, said CSOP.
Established in 2008, CSOP is the first offshore asset manager set up by a regulated asset management company in China. In December last year, CSOP was one of the three asset managers that launched the first batch of ETFs tracking the MSCI China A 50 Connect Index.
As of the end of 2021, the asset manager had a total AUM of $11bn.
