Retail investors are moving quickly into space-themed funds as the market waits for the SpaceX IPO, and Tema ETFs’ Space Innovators ETF has become one of the clearest beneficiaries of that rush. The fund, which trades under the ticker NASA, launched on March 30 and climbed past $1 billion in assets in just 37 trading days before ending the past trading week above $2.6 billion.
That growth shows how strongly investors want access to SpaceX before it becomes public. It also reflects a broader wave of demand for space investing, with several new ETFs arriving as the theme gains momentum.
SpaceX exposure is drawing retail demand
SpaceX has taken an unusual route for its offering by allowing retail access through brokerage firms, a setup that is not typical for new deals that usually favor institutions. Even so, the NASA ETF gives everyday investors another way to gain exposure because it already owns privately traded SpaceX shares directly.
SpaceX currently makes up about 7.5% of the fund. Tema ETFs founder and CEO Maurits Pot said on CNBC’s “ETF Edge” that the fund has to include the company if it wants to stay true to the space theme.
“If we’re going to invest in space … We have to offer exposure to SpaceX,” Pot said. He also said there is no plan to sell shares when the IPO happens, adding that the deal is “simply a remarking of the position to market price.”
Limited but growing access across ETFs
NASA is not the only ETF with SpaceX exposure, but the options remain narrow. Ron Baron’s First Principles fund, linked to the RONB ETF, holds close to 2% of its assets in SpaceX, while Tesla remains its top holding at more than 14%.
The ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF, ticker XOVR, also owns SpaceX shares and says they are worth close to $300 million based on an expected IPO value of over $1.5 trillion. That valuation remains a point of debate among investors as the market waits for pricing details.
Mike Akins, founding partner at ETF Action, said the ETF structure now gives ordinary investors access that once would have been difficult to get. “Ten, twenty years ago, you talked about a space theme like this, an investor would have to go out and look up all these companies. Now there’s a ticker,” Akins said.
A wave of new space ETFs
The SpaceX backdrop has also helped fuel launches across the category. Todd Sohn, chief ETF strategist at Strategas, said several new space ETFs have appeared in recent months, including Van Eck Space ETF WARP, Global X Space Tech ETF ORBX, and Roundhill Investments’ Space & Technology ETF MARS.
He said that pattern often signals an industry expects strong retail interest, much like other thematic trades tied to innovation. “That to me is usually a pretty good read that the industry expects space to be the next big thing,” Sohn said. “It’s a very similar idea to what AI was a few years ago and continuing on.”
In total, six space-themed ETFs launched over the past three months. Sohn also warned that investors need to look closely at what each fund actually holds, since some products are far more focused than others.
Why the fund mix matters
Older space ETFs already in the market have built portfolios around different versions of the theme. The Procure Space ETF, or UFO, launched in 2019 and now has more than $1.2 billion in assets, with top holdings that include Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, and Planet Labs.
The SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF, ticker ROKT, launched in 2018 and holds companies such as Intuitive Machines and Redwire. ARK Space and Defense Innovation ETF, ARKX, shows how broad the category can be, since its portfolio also includes names such as Amazon and Deere.
Sohn said investors should pay attention to overlap with more traditional defense stocks and to how concentrated a fund is in a small group of high-risk names. “It all depends on how pure or watered down the ETF is,” he said. “So the due diligence for this is really important now.”
Costs and risk come into focus
NASA is actively managed, which means it does not simply follow an index tied to the theme. That approach comes at a higher cost, with an annual net expense ratio of 0.87%, compared with 0.50% for ORBX and 0.45% for ROKT.
The trade also carries sharp risk because the space sector remains young and highly volatile. Akins and Sohn both said that volatility is likely the biggest issue for retail investors entering the theme, especially as public space companies remain few in number.
“Expect volatility. That is usually what happens with very early-stage industries,” Sohn said. “There will be companies that outperform and companies within ETFs that fall apart because the business model doesn’t make sense.”