Looking for an ETF that’s one small step for man and one giant leap for your portfolio? Watch this space

0
156


NASA/AFP/Getty Images


NASA photo shows astronaut Buzz Aldrin Jr. saluting the U.S. flag on the surface of the moon in 1969.

Get ready to boldly go where no investor has gone before. Or few have, anyway.

The Procure Space ETF, whose ticker symbol is “UFO,” launched in April to offer investors exposure to what its founders call “the space economy.”

UFO












UFO, +0.28%










is mostly — 80% — composed of companies involved in existing space-related business lines: ground equipment manufacturing that uses satellite systems, rocket and satellite manufacturing and operation, satellite-based telecommunications and broadcasting, and so on.

Read: Elon Musk’s ‘Space Mountain’ rocket ride: anywhere on Earth in under 20 minutes

But the remaining 20% of its holdings are more, let’s say, far-flung. Procure says included companies are involved in space tourism, space-based military and defense systems, space resource exploration and extraction, and colonization efforts.

There are plenty of investable opportunities in this space. But a lot of the marquee ventures that capture the popular imagination — SpaceX, Virgin Galactic — are private, although Virgin, founded by Richard Branson, recently announced plans to go public later this year. A group of angel investors called Space Angels estimates that there are over 435 privately funded space companies that have attracted more than $20 billion in capital.

In a July research note, Morgan Stanley said it estimates the global space industry could generate revenue of more than $1 trillion by 2040, nearly three times the $350 billion it’s currently producing. The bank reckons that there are plenty of businesses that aren’t space-specific but which are likely to benefit from a multiplier effect as the industry matures.

UFO has a three-month performance of 2.3%, a few basis points lower than that of the S&P 500












SPX, +0.23%










and a few better than the Nasdaq












COMP, +0.67%










 . Still, as coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission demonstrates, it’s still the “moonshot” that grabs the imagination.

The fund trades on the NYSE, has an expense ratio of 0.75%, and has attracted about $10 million so far, according to its website. Among its largest holdings are telecommunications companies Intelsat S.A.












I, +0.52%










 , Sirius XM Holdings Inc.












SIRI, +0.50%










and ORBCOMM












ORBC, -1.15%










 .

Related: Here’s where you’ll live when self-driving cars rule the roads





Source : MTV