Invesco launches fund dedicated to companies focused on the metaverse

Asset manager Invesco has launched a fund dedicated to companies focused on the metaverse.

The Invesco Metaverse Fund, managed by Tony Roberts and James McDermottroe, invests in large, medium and small caps ‘that help facilitate, create, or benefit from the growth of immersive virtual worlds’ across the US, Europe and Asia.

The fund launch comes amid growing interest surrounding the growth of virtual reality technology. 

The concept of an immersive virtual world received a boost when Mark Zuckerberg formalised his commitment to the metaverse last year.

Since then various funds and ETFs have launched to offer investors exposure to it.

Earlier this year Axa IM launched a metaverse fund, managed by Pauline Llandric and co-managers Tom Riley and Jeremy Gleeson.

Roberts, who oversees Invesco’s Asia-focused equity strategies, said it had been estimated that virtual and augmented reality could be a a £1.4trillion market by 2030.

‘While the metaverse’s applications to entertainment are increasingly well-understood, the interconnectivity that it enables will likely have a transformative impact across industries as diverse as healthcare, logistics, education and sport,’ said Roberts.

‘We will seek to capitalise on these opportunities through a highly selective, valuation-conscious approach.’

The fund will focus on seven areas: next generation operating and computer systems, hardware and devices, hyperconnectivity networks, immersive platforms developed with AI, blockchain, the interchange tools to bring about inoperability and services and assets that will facilitate the digitisation of the real economy.

The team behind the fund says it is ‘too big an opportunity for companies to ignore’.

The fund’s performance will be measured against the MSCI AC World (Net Total Return) benchmark and its management fee will be 0.75 per cent on the z share class in the UK.

Invesco give it a risk factor of six out of seven in its key investor information document. 

‘At Invesco, we will always aim to offer clients best-in-class solutions to help capture exciting opportunities – and the metaverse is certainly one of these’, said Alexander Millar, head of UK distribution at Invesco.

‘Our experienced Asia & Emerging Markets team is uniquely well-placed to pick the winners of this emerging global megatrend through its disciplined and robust, fundamental approach.’