Invesco is launching an ETF in partnership with Elwood Asset Management offering exposure to digital assets and blockchain technology at an ongoing charge of 0.65%.
The Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain UCITS ETF will trade on the London Stock Exchange and aims to deliver the performance of the Elwood Blockchain Global Equity index by physically investing in its constituents.
The index offers exposure to global companies in developed and emerging markets that participate, or have the potential to participate, in the blockchain ecosystem; it is designed to evolve along with the growth in this technology.
Gary Buxton, head of EMEA ETFs at Invesco, said: “We believe the potential for blockchain technology to disrupt the status quo of companies in virtually every industry makes for a strong long-term investment case. This new fund offers exposure with the added benefit of Elwood’s expertise along with the attractions of our ETF structure.”
Bin Ren, CEO of Elwood, added: “Blockchain has been around for a decade, but many people still see it just as the technology behind cryptocurrencies. The true potential, however, may extend far beyond that.
What impact will blockchain have on the asset and wealth management industry?
“We are beginning to see the technology being used by financial services companies in particular, but we expect greater application of blockchain technology across a wide range of industries.
“We believe the potential for blockchain to change the global economy is greatly underappreciated in today’s market, much like the internet was in the beginning, when most people couldn’t see past its usefulness for e-mail.”
At this stage, the majority of the index is allocated to companies with ‘developing’ or ‘potential’ value from blockchain, but over time balance is expected to shift to firms with more significant exposure to the technology.
The largest sector allocations in the index are currently information technology and financials (46% and 23%, respectively), while the US (39%) and Japan (29%) dominate it on a geographical basis.
The index is calculated for Elwood AM by index provider Solactive AG and reviewed and rebalanced quarterly.