Roundhill Investments‘ esports-dedicated exchange-traded fund (ETF), NERD, has acquired position in Enthusiast Gaming, the parent company of Luminosity Gaming.
As a result, NERD ETF has become the first public fund to take position in an esports organisation with an approximate worth of $200,000 (£161,840) in capital.
In addition to Luminosity Gaming, Enthusiast Gaming owns a non-controlling interest in Overwatch League franchise Vancouver Titans, as well as a Seattle franchise slot in the upcoming Call of Duty League alongside the Aquilini Group. NERD will be able to provide an opportunity to buy into Luminosity Gaming, Seattle CoD, and Vancouver Titans without purchasing Enthusiast Gaming stocks directly in Canada. This structure will allow investors outside of Canada to get involved.
Roundhill Investments has earned its name in digital entertainment, launching NERD in June and acquiring stake in major companies such as Tencent, Electronic Arts, Turtle Beach, Ubisoft Entertainment, Razer and Activision Blizzard, to name a few. A more thorough outline of NERD’s holdings can be found here.
The ETF’s index includes an equal-weighted portfolio of globally-listed companies that function in the competitive gaming space; this includes publishers, developers, tournament organisers and lead operators as well as esports organisations and hardware manufacturers.
Tim Maloney, CIO of Roundhill Investments spoke to NERD’s ambitions in a June 2019 interview: “The reason for having an index in an ETF of the different publishers is because it’s a hit-driven business. Fortnite came out of nowhere a few years ago; now it’s the biggest thing anyone has heard of. You want diversified exposure, and having the ETF approach for it helps mitigate some of those risks in the hit-driven business.”
Esports Insider says: Roundhill Investments’ NERD boasts an impressive catalog of holdings in key groups of the esports industry. Moreover, the incredibly diverse portfolio of companies that help drive esports from publishers to hardware developers makes for quite a mouthwatering menu for potential investors.