The “metaverse,” a centralized virtual world parallel to reality, has become a buzzword this year. To tap into the potential of the future, investors are looking into the most effective investment ideas. As a pioneer in the market, Samsung Asset Management introduced the first actively managed local metaverse-themed ETF in November 2021. Now, it has followed up with the launch of the first ETF that tracks U.S.-listed and U.S.-domiciled companies involved in the metaverse theme.
The Metaverse
The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space created by the conversions of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the virtual world, augmented and mixed reality, as well as the internet.
According to Bloomberg, Korea is the fastest-growing metaverse ETF market globally, reaching USD100 million in assets in just two weeks (as of Nov 17, 2021), and the flows are driven mainly by retail.
The Nasdaq Yewno Metaverse Index ETF
To address this growing demand for investment vehicles focused on the metaverse, Samsung Asset Management, in partnership with Nasdaq and Yewno, launched Nasdaq Yewno Metaverse Index (“NYMETA”) ETF on Dec. 6, 2021. The index tracks the performance of U.S.-listed and U.S.-domiciled companies selected based on proprietary data for virtual reality and augmented reality, aggregated by Yewno, which sources from news and patents data.
“We are pleased to work with Nasdaq on the launch of Korea’s first U.S. Metaverse ETF. We work very closely with Nasdaq on many innovative ETF launches, including the most recent leverage and inverse ETFs,” said Jaewook Chung, Head of ETF Team of Samsung Asset Management. “We look forward to working with Nasdaq even more closely going forward to support us in bringing the global opportunities to the investors in Korea.”
Samsung Asset Management & Its Innovative Offerings
The Nasdaq Yewno Metaverse Index is the latest innovative offering from Samsung Asset Management. Established in 1998, Samsung Asset Management, the core investment management arm of Samsung Group, manages assets of more than USD250 billion (as of Nov. 30).
Samsung Asset Management, which has a presence in Hong Kong, New York and London, serves retail and institutional clients with investment strategies spanning across different asset classes: domestic and global equity, fixed income, alternative investments, multi-asset solutions via mutual funds, ETFs and customized solutions.
KODEX, the ETF suite from Samsung Asset Management, is a pioneer in the market dedicated to providing innovative ideas, investor education and the best trading support.
With its first ETF launch in 2002, KODEX has introduced more than 100 products with total ETF asset under management over USD28 billion.
The Many Firsts of Kodex
www.nasdaq.com