VanEck Launches ESPO, ETF Focused on Fast Growing Video Game and eSports Industry

VanEck announced the launch of the VanEck Vectors® Video Gaming and eSports ETF (NYSE Arca: ESPO).

“Just a few years ago, talk of sold out stadiums, viewership in the millions, high-profile sponsors, and notable marketing arrangements would have been centered on football, baseball, basketball or hockey. But today, that talk can just as easily be applied to the world of video games and eSports,” said Ed Lopez, Head of ETF product at VanEck. “This is the future of sports and a growth story that is global in scope.”

The video game market is undergoing a period of transformative growth, added Lopez, and is predicted to generate close to $140 billion in revenue in 2018, an increase of more than 13 percent from 2017. It’s not just that people are playing more video games on more platforms; one of the driving factors of growth for the industry has been the emergence of professional video gaming, or eSports. We anticipate that established video game companies are set to benefit the most with the rise of eSports, through partnerships, league ownership, sponsorships, franchising, and other marketing arrangements.

“eSports have brought video games out of the rec room and into the stadiums,” continued Lopez. eSports has become one of the largest spectator sports in the world with games streamed online or on major broadcast outlets like ESPN and at live gaming events held in stadiums. For example, the League of Legends world finals in 2017 attracted more viewers than the MLB World Series, the NBA finals, and the NHL Stanley Cup finals. In 2018, the global eSports audience is expected to reach 380 million people.

“The video game industry is disrupting traditional media and entertainment,” said Lopez, “and with a young and highly engaged demographic, ESPO provides investors access to what we believe can be a long-term growth story.”

ESPO seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the MVIS^® Global Video Gaming and eSports Index (MVESPO). The index is a rules-based, modified capitalization weighted, float adjusted index intended to give investors a means of tracking the overall performance of companies involved in video gaming and eSports. This may include companies developing video games and related software, streaming services, and/or those involved in eSports events. To be included in the index, companies must generate at least 50% of their revenues from video gaming or eSports. This allows ESPO to have the highest concentration, among U.S.-listed ETFs, of pure play names participating in this fast-growing space.

ESPO has a gross expense ratio of 0.60% and a net expense ratio of 0.55%, which is capped contractually until [February 1, 2020.]

ESPO joins VanEck’s suite of industry-focused equity ETFs, which also includes the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH®), VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF (BBH®), VanEck Vectors Environmental Services ETF (EVX®), VanEck Vectors Generic Drugs ETF (GNRX), VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH®), VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH®), and VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF (BJK®).

About VanEck

VanEck has a history of looking beyond the financial markets to identify trends that are likely to create impactful investment opportunities. We were one of the first U.S. asset managers to offer investors access to international markets. This set the tone for the firm’s drive to identify asset classes and trends – including gold investing in 1968, emerging markets in 1993, and exchange traded funds in 2006 – that subsequently shaped the investment management industry.

Today, VanEck offers active and passive strategies with compelling exposures supported by well-designed investment processes. As of September 30, 2018, VanEck managed approximately $46.1 billion in assets, including mutual funds, ETFs, and institutional accounts. The firm’s capabilities range from core investment opportunities to more specialized exposures to enhance portfolio diversification. Our actively managed strategies are fueled by in-depth, bottom-up research and security selection from portfolio managers with direct experience in the sectors and regions in which they invest. Investability, liquidity, diversity, and transparency are key to the experienced decision-making around market and index selection underlying VanEck’s passive strategies.

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