BetaShares launches Metaverse ETF: Just a fancy Nasdaq

If there’s a trending sector that you want to invest in, Betashares probably has an ETF for it.

Thursday welcomes the Betashares Metaverse ETF (ASX: MTAV) after Solar (ASX: TANN) and Uranium (ASX: URNM) ETFs that were launched in May. 

The ETF provides investors exposure to a portfolio of leading global companies involved in the metaverse, including:

• Providers of 3D modelling

• Designers and manufacturers of virtual and augmented reality hardware

• Providers of artificial intelligence services

• Companies that sell advertising in the Metaverse 

• Companies involved in digital currencies and assets in the Metaverse

“As the Metaverse evolves, consumers are expected to spend more and more time in virtual worlds, and businesses will increasingly have to establish and maintain a 3D, digital presence inside these worlds,” said Betashares.

Top 10 index exposures

The ETF holds 32 companies, most of them are US-listed. Here's a list of its top 10 holdings as at 31 July 2022.

Source: Betashares | Table: Market Index

It's basically the Nasdaq

In short - this 'Metaverse ETF' is just a fancy Nasdaq with a 0.69% per annum management fee slapped on top.

The idea of investing in the Metaverse is often to invest in risky, high growth companies that either sink or far outperform the market.

Though, this ETF is more like a list of top blue-chip US tech companies with some metaverse side hustle. But then again, the intention here is to provide investors with exposure to "leading global companies", not microcaps stocks.

For those interested in the latter, names like Vection Technologies (ASX: VR1), PlaySide Studios (ASX: PLY) and XReality Group (ASX: XRG) come to mind.

Metaverse ETF top 5 holdings vs. Nasdaq (Source: TradingView)