Just 19 months after its launch in Europe, the VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports UCITS ETF has already amassed a fund volume of over USD1 billion dollars. In April 2020, about nine months ago, the ETF had just passed the USD100 million dollar mark.
“The strong growth of our Video Gaming and Esports ETF shows that this industry is seen as an interesting and viable investment opportunity by both private investors and financial professionals,” says Martijn Rozemuller, Head of Europe at VanEck. “Digital and online entertainment is becoming increasingly important and is now more than just another leisure activity. Esports competitions have now become a billion-dollar market in their own right, with professional leagues and competitions.”
“This trend has already been evident in recent years and has been noticeably accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic alongside the ensuing lockdowns and stay-at-home periods that accompanied it. Irrespective of this, we are convinced that companies such as software developers and streaming providers will continue to flourish in the long term, even after the current restrictions are lifted. As early as 2023, global video game market revenue alone could be close to USD218 billion,” says Rozemuller.
At the same time, the risks associated with investing in video gaming and Esports companies should not be ignored: These companies are highly dependent on patent protection and may be subject to regulatory requirements related to cybersecurity and data privacy.
The VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports UCITS ETF provides investors with the opportunity to follow overall performance of companies predominantly involved in video gaming and/or Esports. It aims to replicate the performance of the MVIS® Global Video Gaming and eSports Index as precisely as possible in terms of price and yield (before costs and fees). The index tracks the performance of the global video gaming and Esports industry and, as a pure play concept, only includes companies that generate more than 50 per cent of their revenue from video games and/or ESports at the time of inclusion.
