(Bloomberg) -- The ETF space race is going global, as a new intergalactic-inspired product prepares for its London debut in the coming days.
With a ticker pulled straight from the pop-culture playbook, YODA will be the first exchange-traded fund in Europe tracking the “space economy,” according to a release from issuer Procure Holdings.
It joins a tiny handful of similarly themed offerings in North America, and its arrival comes two months after Cathie Wood rode the space-investing trend to one of the best launches in ETF history.
Wood and Ark Investment Management's first new product since 2019 was a shot in the arm for a nascent industry that enjoys the backing of several billionaire entrepreneurs and promises everything from space tourism to intergalactic broadband.
The offering will test appetite for futuristic technologies after a rocky stretch for growth stocks of late that has curbed some of the speculative euphoria.
“The interest of highly successful entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos is a huge indicator of the potential growth in this sector,” said Robert Tull, president of Procure.
The Pennsylvania-based ETF manager already runs the $129 million Procure Space product (UFO) listed in the U.S. The European fund -- whose ticker is inspired by the popular Jedi master from “Star Wars” -- will share many of the same top holdings, including Trimble Inc., Garmin Ltd. and DISH Network Corp.
All the same, a stock rotation has seen investors recently ditching high-flying growth companies for more down-to-earth targets likely to benefit from reopening economies. ETFs that track themes like innovation and disruption have just notched their first month of outflows in more than a year, Bloomberg Intelligence data show.
Still, there are signs that plenty of investors may be in it for the long haul.
Ark's space ETF has returned less than 2% since launching compared with 6% for the Nasdaq 100 Index, but investors have pulled hardly any cash. The Space Exploration & Innovation product boasts more than $630 million in assets.
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