The Invesco Metaverse Fund is an actively-managed equity investment vehicle, that will focus on what Invesco calls the ’metaverse value chain’.

The fund, which will be managed by Tony Roberts and James McDermottroe, both part of Invesco’s UK-based Asia and emerging markets team.

According to Roberts, the fund launch has been inspired by the positive forecasts surrounding the growth of the metaverse.

“It has been estimated that, by 2030, virtual and augmented reality could deliver a £1.4 trillion boost to the global economy”, said Roberts.

“While the metaverse’s applications to entertainment are increasingly well-understood, the interconnectivity that it enables will likely have a transformative impact across industries as diverse as healthcare, logistics, education and sport. We will seek to capitalise on these opportunities through a highly selective, valuation-conscious approach.”

Thematically, the Fund will focus on seven areas including operating and computer systems, hardware and devices that provide access to the metaverse, immersive platforms developed with artificial intelligence, blockchain and services and assets designed to facilitate the digitisation of the real economy.

Invesco is not the first fund manager to treat the metaverse as an investment opportunity. Axa Investment Management, Fidelity and HSBC have launched metaverse funds this year.