(Bloomberg) — The race to launch the first metaverse ETF in Canada is shaping up to end in a tie as two fund managers seek to launch competing funds on Monday.
The Evolve Metaverse ETF (MESH) and the Horizons Global Metaverse ETF (MTAV) are both slated to begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Evolve’s exchange traded fund will actively invest in a mix of stocks that are involved in the development of the metaverse, including Activision Blizzard Inc., Roblox Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. Horizons’s fund will replicate the performance of the Solactive Global Metaverse Index, whose top weightings include Tencent Holdings Ltd., S4 Capital Plc and Qurate Retail Inc.
Investors and fund managers have been racing to capitalize on the metaverse trend after Facebook Inc. rebranded as Meta Platforms in October in a shift of focus to virtual and augmented reality concepts.
Investors have poured a net $806 million into the Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF in the U.S. since its launch this summer, with flows accelerating after the Meta Platforms rebrand. Four new metaverse-focused ETFs in South Korea have also seen double-digit gains since launching last month.
Steve Hawkins, president and chief executive of Horizons ETFs, said in a release that analysts are predicting the metaverse opportunity to reach at least $800 billion of market capitalization by as early as 2024.
Evolve’s ETF will charge a management fee of 0.60%, while Horizons’s will charge a management fee of 0.55%.
“The metaverse will take us from simply interacting online to fully immersing within the digital world,” said Raj Lala, president and chief executive at Evolve ETFs, in a press release.
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