Why You Should Care About These Metaverse Stocks
Investors are showing a keen interest in metaverse stocks as Facebook’s moves draw more publicity to the market.
Oct. 27 2021, Published 8:11 a.m. ET
The future is the metaverse—a coming virtual world that promises almost limitless possibilities for humans. The metaverse market opportunity could exceed $1.5 trillion by 2030, according to PwC. It’s no surprise investors are excited about metaverse stocks.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been talking about the metaverse a lot lately. In fact, Facebook is repositioning itself as a metaverse company. The crypto and gaming industries are also talking about it. In the metaverse, people will be able to virtually meet, work, travel, and shop.
The metaverse will be enabled by virtual and augmented reality systems, mobile apps, and other technologies. Although the metaverse is still largely an imagination of the tech industry, you can already start investing in this exciting future. You can invest in companies building the metaverse and those that supply the technology that will power the future universe.
The best metaverse stocks to buy
The shift to the metaverse should benefit the global economy as a whole. But there are industries and companies that will lead the march into the metaverse. If you’re seeking early exposure to the metaverse economy, here are some of the stocks you may want to consider.
Facebook (FB).
Roblox (RBLX).
Shopify (SHOP).
Nvidia (NVDA).
Fastly (FSLY).
Robinhood (HOOD).
Facebook is betting its future on the metaverse. The company may invest as much as $10 billion in its metaverse division in 2021, and is hiring thousands of engineers to work on its metaverse project. The work involves developing virtual and augmented reality headsets, software, and content that will be used in the virtual universe.
Roblox is a platform for building games for kids with a metaverse vision. It aims to build a virtual environment where people not only come to play games, but also conduct business meetings and shop. Electronic Arts (EA), Take-Two (TTWO), and Activision Blizzard (ATVI) have also developed games with metaverse elements.
If shopping is shifting the metaverse, then e-commerce companies such as Shopify and Amazon (AMZN) stand to benefit. Shopify, preparing metaverse shopping building blocks, has acquired Primer, an augmented reality app that lets people visualize the effects of home improvement. Primer could be an important tool to drive sales for home improvement businesses in the metaverse.
Metaverse systems will require many and powerful processing chips. Nvidia is a leading supplier of artificial intelligence chips that such systems will need. Intel, Qualcomm, and Micron also stand to benefit from the demand for semiconductor components for metaverse systems.
Fastly provides edge computing solutions. A real-time metaverse will rely a lot on edge computing technology, suggesting strong demand for Fastly’s solutions in the future. Meanwhile, Robinhood isn’t building a metaverse, but when interest in metaverse stocks explodes, Robinhood will be the platform where much of the trade will be taking place.
China warns about metaverse stocks
China isn’t only concerned about cryptocurrencies, but also the early excitement over metaverse stocks. Chinese metaverse-related stocks have been soaring, leading to media scrutiny and warnings about investing in illusionary concepts.
Should you buy a metaverse stocks ETF?
The metaverse stocks universe will only continue to expand as the space develops. Some investors may feel overwhelmed by the choices and instead want to try a fund that offers exposure to an array of metaverse companies. The Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (META), launched in June 2021, offers exposure to a diverse range of companies with metaverse-related projects or that stand to benefit from the industry’s growth. Its top holdings are Nvidia, Microsoft, Roblox, and Facebook.
The fund has built a portfolio of 41 stocks and attracted more than $120 million in assets under management. It charges a 0.75 percent annual fee (or expense ratio). The impressive performance of ProShares’ Bitcoin fund has stirred interest in new ETFs among retail investors. You can buy the Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF on Robinhood, SoFi, Schwab, Fidelity, and InteractiveBorkers.