Quick take:
- Legal and General Asset Management (LGIM) has launched its metaverse campaign with an ESG-themed metaverse ETF.
- The investment firm has announced the L&G Metaverse ESG Exclusions UCITS ETF (MTVR).
- The ETF will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, Deutsche Boerse and Six Exchange.
Legal and General Asset Management (LGIM) has joined the metaverse ETF campaign with an ESG-themed exchange-traded fund. The investment firm has launched the L&G Metaverse ESG Exclusions UCITS ETF (MTVR).
The metaverse is described as a 3D virtual space that allows people to interact with each other immersively through gaming, virtual concerts and other experiential events.
Companies are looking to capitalise on the projected explosive growth of the industry. According to McKinsey, the metaverse will reach a value of about $5 trillion by 2030, while Citigroup predicts a valuation of $8-$13 trillion.
LGIM is among the asset management companies looking to offer investors an alternative route to tapping on the opportunity. Unlike buying a metaverse stock, exchange-traded funds enable investors to invest in more than one company, allowing them to invest in different segments of the industry, which provides diversification.
LGIM’s new metaverse ETF is a part of the company’s newly-created ‘Access’ range that seeks to provide investors with strategic tools for “non-traditional investment opportunities”.
The MTVR will track the popular iStoxx Access Metaverse index, which is comprised of companies targeting opportunities in hardware, software, networks and digital payments in the metaverse, as well as, “augment human policing”.
The MTVR was not the only ETF launched by LGIM on Wednesday. The company also announced three other funds, all targeting burgeoning industries including the L&G Optical Technology Photonics ESG Exclusions UCITS ETF (LAZG), the L&G Emerging Cyber Security ESG Exclusions UCITS ETF (ESPY) and the L&G Global Thematic ESG Exclusions UCITS ETF (THMZ).
Commenting on the new funds, Aanand Venkatramanan (pictured), head of ETFs EMEA at LGIM, said: “Thematic investment strategies have seen strong investor interest over recent years, thanks to their ability to capitalise on structural and foundational changes in the way we live and work.”
The announcement comes hot on the heels of Franklin Templeton’s announcement of its metaverse ETF. Earlier in 2022, First Trust, Fidelity, Proshares, Global X, and ETC Group all announced metaverse-themed exchange-traded funds.
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