Investors hoping to gain exposure to the commercial possibilities of outer space with exchange traded funds will soon be offered their first European-listed opportunity when HANetf’s newest vehicle launches in early June.
But although entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are spending billions of dollars in competing developments that could eventually help humans travel beyond the moon, industry observers caution that space ETFs often have only tenuous links to the overall theme.
“Space is very loosely defined when you look closely at the holdings of these ETFs. Only a few of the constituent companies are linked exclusively to the space economy and some of the holdings are small, illiquid stocks,” said Peter Sleep, a senior portfolio manager at 7IM, a wealth manager of the existing products on the market.