Roundhill to Exit Europe After Closing Metaverse ETF

Roundhill Investments is set to exit the European ETF market after announcing the closure of its metaverse exchange-traded fund just 18 months after launching.

The Round Ball Metaverse UCITS ETF (METV) will delist from the Deutsche Boerse on Nov. 30 after gathering just $1.8 million in assets under management since its inception.

It is the U.S.-based firm’s only ETF listed in Europe despite also having a sports betting and gaming exchange-traded fund registered with the Central Bank of Ireland.

"After careful consideration, we decided to refocus our distribution efforts back to our home market in the U.S., where we believe there are currently numerous opportunities for innovation,” Tim Maloney, chief investment officer of Roundhill Investments, told ETF Stream.

"This fund closure is in no way an indication of a wavering belief in the metaverse, a theme we remain deeply committed to and where our U.S.-listed Fund remains the largest in the world.

"Establishing a business presence in a new market is always a challenging proposition, and in this case, we were unable to identify a model for growth that was sustainable despite the strong support from all of our partners on the initiative."

Metaverse ETF in the U.S.

The firm launched the world’s first metaverse ETF in the U.S., tracking the same index as METV, which at one point had $710 million in assets under management.

Assets have since fallen to $413 million, even though the fund has returned 34.5% this year as of Oct. 18.

METV was the second metaverse ETF to list in Europe following the launch of the $7.9 millon ETC Group Global Metaverse UCITS ETF (METR) just five days earlier.

The metaverse theme has struggled to take off since a flurry of launches last year which saw Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Investments, Legal & General Investment Management and BlackRock all enter the market.

The iShares Metaverse UCITS ETF (MTAV) is the largest ETF tracking the metaverse. It launched in December, but has amassed only $19.1 million in assets.