Give Me Space: ETFs Seek to Fill a Void
New funds aim to give investors a space economy investment that isn’t just SpaceX.
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Much as the universe is expanding, so is the cosmos of space ETFs.
Two exchange-traded funds have come to market recently that take aim at the burgeoning space economy, a growing collection of firms and industries that comprise space tourism, orbital data centers, satellite manufacturing and more. The latest US strategies come from VanEck and WisdomTree, whose space funds launched in May and July, respectively. Meanwhile, London-based Seraphim Space recently debuted its New Space UCITS ETF in partnership with HANetf.
“This opportunity is not simply investing in space,” Seraphim CEO Mark Boggett said. “It’s investing in the infrastructure layer that’s going to power connectivity, intelligence and economic activity.”
A SpaceX Odyssey
The elephant in the room, SpaceX, generated volatility throughout the sector earlier this year, with a massive selloff after the company’s IPO. This led to oversold positions in companies like the commercial satellite operation company HawkEye 360, Boggett said, making them valuable for the space-curious investor. WisdomTree’s fund, on the other hand, holds companies like Planet Labs, which makes commercially available satellite imagery for things like agriculture and mapping. This satellite data is important to feed AI models, Boggett added, which can be used to do things like identify illegal fishing or oil transportation when it occurs.
“AI is only as powerful as the data that is being fed, and this data is increasingly coming from space,” Boggett said, adding that the information is leading to insights “for industries like agriculture, defense, insurance, energy [and] supply chains.”
Performance among the biggest US-based space ETFs is mixed, reflecting that volatility:
- The Tema Space Innovators ETF (NASA), which has over $1 billion in AUM, is down about 2% year to date.
- The Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX), which has about $755 million, is up just over 9% YTD.
- The Procure Space ETF (UFO), which manages roughly $545 million, is up 10.5% year to date.
Open the Pod Bay Floodgates, HAL. With its new product, Seraphim, a space tech venture capital firm, is diving into the world of ETFs for the first time. “What we’re looking to be compared against is the performance of the other ETFs that take a much broader view, including traditional space companies within their index,” Boggett said, “as well as the new space companies.”
