Global asset manager Invesco has launched an actively managed, 30 million dollar investment fund focused on metaverse companies. The Invesco Metaverse Fund will be domiciled in Luxembourg and will be distributed to investors across Europe.
The metaverse is defined as a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. Virtual and augmented reality has the potential to add some 1.7 billion euro to the world economy and approximately 23 million jobs by 2030, according to consultancy PwC.
Invesco said that the fund will invest in large, medium and small-cap companies in the metaverse ecosystem that includes “many distinct and interrelated sectors that help facilitate, create, or benefit from the growth of immersive virtual worlds.”
The fund will be managed by Tony Roberts, fund manager, and James McDermottroe, deputy fund manager.
‘Transformative impact’
“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 invest in seven thematic areas of the industry: next-generation operating and computer systems; hardware and devices that provide access to the metaverse; networks for hyperconnectivity; immersive platforms developed with artificial intelligence; blockchain; interchange tools necessary to bring about interoperability; and services and assets that will facilitate the digitisation of the real economy.
The fund’s performance will be measured against the MSCI AC World (Net Total Return) benchmark, the firm said. The fund has share classes registered in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Finland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovakia and Spain.
Metaverse infrastructure
Invesco said that, at this early stage, some of the greatest opportunity is for those involved in developing the infrastructure that is required to be in place for the Metaverse to reach its true potential. Then, real-world experiences and assets could be digitised, enabling users to go seamlessly from one experience to another. “We believe this is too big an opportunity for companies to ignore,” the firm said.
“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,” said Roel Thijssen, head of Benelux Distribution at Invesco.
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