Thematic Investing

Two panels at the SRP Europe Conference 2023 discussed the role of index design in building structured products for a changing market landscape. Topics covered include rising interest rates and volatility, and growing demand for sustainability and thematic investment strategies.

US and Asian stocks fell in February, as better-than-expected economic reports in the US signaled the Federal Reserve has room to continue raising interest rates. European shares climbed when measured in euros.

Stocks jumped in January as expectations built up that inflation worldwide may have peaked and that any recession in key developed economies may be mild.

The recently launched STOXX Global Metaverse Index uses a sophisticated methodology to screen those companies with the most relevant patents in technologies associated with the Metaverse. This allows investors to target innovators whose products and services are likely to be leading the transition to the virtual world in the coming years. A new Qontigo whitepaper explores the index in detail.

In this paper, we explore the rationale and methodology behind the construction of the index. We start by explaining the concept of megatrends and how they can be captured through thematic indexing, using a multifaceted approach. We look as well at the index performance before concluding with an outlook on the opportunities for the Metaverse in the years to come.

Stocks declined in December, wrapping the STOXX® Global 1800 index’s worst year since 2008, as investor concerns lingered about the impact of inflation and higher interest rates on economic and earnings growth.

“The overarching story around the components that make up Metaverse still have a very long-term appeal when it comes to growth and innovation,” said Arun Singhal, global head of product management at Qontigo, in an interview with ETF.com.

The index follows a unique patents-based stock selection methodology targeting innovators and specialists that are helping create and deploy the Metaverse. With it, Qontigo expands its wide suite of thematic indices harnessing the upside of companies at the vanguard of new technologies.

BlackRock has launched a new ETF (exchange traded fund), giving European clients targeted exposure to a wide variety of companies active in developing metaverse technologies. The iShares Metaverse UCITS ETF [MTAV] will track the STOXX Global Metaverse Index.

The STOXX® Global 1800 index rose for a second straight month in November as investors raised expectations that higher interest rates are helping temper inflation.

Revenue-based thematic indices allow investors to target the companies benefitting from disruptive and structural economic trends. But how can investors access the earlier stages of those trends, and harness the upside of higher growth rates?