KB Asset Management Launches Industry's First Metaverse-Related Fund

Selective Investment in Global Key Companies Related to the Metaverse

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] KB Asset Management announced on the 14th that it will launch a fund investing in representative metaverse stocks listed on the global stock market, the first in the industry.

The metaverse is a neologism combining ‘meta,’ meaning virtual or abstract, and ‘universe,’ meaning world, referring to a world where virtual and real worlds are mixed and the constraints of time and space disappear. Along with the 4th Industrial Revolution and the recent spread of COVID-19 accelerating the untact culture, the metaverse is rapidly emerging as a global megatrend and is expected to be used as a tool to overcome physical limitations in all areas.

Currently, the metaverse is mainly used in gaming and entertainment, but it is expected to be utilized as a technology that enhances productivity and convenience in all fields such as industry, education, healthcare, shopping, and real estate in the future. Global consulting firm PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) predicts that the metaverse economy, which was 50 trillion KRW in 2019, will grow to a market size of 540 trillion KRW by 2025 and 1,700 trillion KRW by 2030.

The ‘KB Global Metaverse Economy Fund’ invests in hardware companies manufacturing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) devices (Facebook, Apple, Microsoft), software companies implementing virtual spaces (Autodesk, Nvidia, Unity Software), platform and content companies (Roblox, Naver, HYBE), and companies related to virtual world infrastructure (Amazon, Qualcomm, Snowflake).

Among 200 to 300 universes in the U.S., Korea, China, and Japan, the fund invests in 30 to 50 stocks considering diversification by country and industry. The country allocation is highest in the U.S. at 70%, and the industry allocation is highest in hardware and platform sectors, each around 30%.

The fund is available for subscription at KB Securities, Kyobo Securities, Yuanta Securities, Hanwha Investment & Securities, Hyundai Motor Securities, and Korea Investment & Securities. Investors can choose from A type (1% front-end load, 1.625% annual fee), A-E type (0.5% front-end load, 1.275% annual fee, online exclusive), C type (no front-end load, 2.225% annual fee), and C-E type (no front-end load, 1.425% annual fee, online exclusive). It is also possible to subscribe through pension savings and retirement pensions.

Lee Hyun-seung, CEO of KB Asset Management, said, "It is not easy for individual investors to select and invest in rapidly evolving metaverse economy beneficiaries," adding, "We launched this fund to make it easy to invest in the rapidly emerging megatrend of the metaverse."

Meanwhile, KB Asset Management introduced a fund investing in the global hydrogen economy earlier this year, and in May launched three bond-type ETFs and, on the 10th, a domestic stock active product, the non-memory semiconductor ETF, leading the market with various thematic products.