NASA ETF – Tema ETFs’ Space Innovators ETF, ticker NASA, launched March 30 and surged past $1 billion in assets in just 37 trading days, reaching over $2.6 billion by the end of the most recent trading week. The quick climb is tied to retail investors seeking exposure to
On the first week of trading after it crossed the $1 billion mark, the NASA ETF kept moving—fast enough to make the SpaceX IPO feel close to home for people who usually aren’t buying into rocket companies.
Tema ETFs’ Space Innovators ETF, trading under the ticker symbol NASA, launched on March 30. By just 37 trading days, it crossed $1 billion in assets. By the end of this past trading week, it had reached over $2.6 billion in assets.
The speed is being fueled by retail investors hunting for a way to get exposure to SpaceX before it goes public. SpaceX itself has built a deal structure that provides access for retail investors through brokerage firms—an approach that is described as atypical for new offerings. which are usually dominated by institutions.
NASA is seen as another route into the same excitement. The fund already holds privately traded SpaceX shares directly, and SpaceX makes up around 7.5% of the fund.
“ If we’re going to invest in space … We have to offer exposure to SpaceX,” Tema ETFs founder and CEO Maurits Pot said on CNBC’s “ETF Edge” on Wednesday.
Pot also said the plan isn’t to trim the position after the IPO. “ The IPO for us is simply a remarking of the position to market price,” he said.
NASA isn’t the only ETF with SpaceX access, but the options are described as limited.
Mutual fund manager and billionaire Ron Baron—who is a long-time Tesla and SpaceX investor—owns SpaceX through his First Principles fund (RONB). Tesla is the top holding in the RONB ETF at over 14%, and the fund holds close to 2% of its assets in SpaceX.
The ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR) also owns shares of SpaceX. The fund says those shares are worth close to $300 million based on an expected IPO value of over $1.5 trillion.
Even with those vehicles, setting a precise valuation for the SpaceX deal has been a sticking point for the market and for investors waiting for the pricing.
Mike Akins. founding partner at ETF Action. pointed to the ETF structure itself as the mechanism that makes this kind of access possible for the everyday investor. “ 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 on “ETF Edge”.
Todd Sohn. chief ETF strategist at Strategas. said new space ETFs have launched over the past few months. including the Van Eck Space ETF (WARP). the Global X Space Tech ETF (ORBX). and Roundhill Investments’ Space & Technology ETF (MARS). He framed the burst as a signal that retail investors are expected to pursue the theme—similar to how thematic trades have previously followed big tech shifts like AI and quantum computing.
Sohn cautioned, though, that “ it all depends on how pure or watered down the ETF is. So the due diligence for this is really important now.”
Six space-themed ETFs debuted over the past three months, but Sohn stressed they aren’t all built the same way.
There are also longer-running funds that cover the space investing theme without waiting for SpaceX’s IPO—building portfolios that include pure-play, high-risk space exploration companies, satellite companies, and broader aerospace and defense sector names.
The Procure Space ETF (UFO), which launched in 2019, has over $1.2 billion in assets and holds Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, and Planet Labs among its top holdings. The SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF (ROKT), launched in 2018, holds Intuitive Machines and Redwire.
Sohn highlighted the ARK Space and Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX) as an example of how wide the portfolio definition can stretch: its top-stock mix includes companies like Amazon and Deere.
He told investors to look hard at overlap with traditional defense exposure and at how concentrated each fund is in a relatively small pool of publicly traded companies. “ There’s only so many companies who are doing this that are public,” Sohn said. “ Some of them may have 30 holdings, some of them may have closer to 50 or so.”.
Sohn added that once SpaceX is public and trading for some time, some funds may shift toward more concentrated bets. “ I have a feeling once SpaceX is public and trading for some time. you’re going to see some of these funds morph into more concentrated bets. depending on how they are managed. ” he said.
Another difference: NASA is actively managed, rather than tracking an existing index designed to represent the theme. UFO, ORBX, ROKT, and others take the index-tracking approach.
Investors pay for that active approach. NASA has an annual net expense ratio of 0.87%, while ORBX charges 0.50% and ROKT’s expense ratio is 0.45%.
The pull behind all of it is clear: Elon Musk is widely expected to be a major winner from the SpaceX IPO, with a view—framed in the coverage—that he could become the world’s first trillionaire.
But in the same breath, Akins and Sohn focused on the risk retail investors are less likely to be prepared for: volatility.
Sohn said the risks in the space market have already been made vivid this week with the launchpad explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. “ Expect volatility. That is usually what happens with very early-stage industries. There will be companies that outperform and companies within ETFs that fall apart because the business model doesn’t make sense. ” Sohn said.
NASA ETF Tema ETFs Space Innovators ETF SpaceX IPO retail investors Maurits Pot volatility ETF Action Strategas Blue Origin New Glenn explosion WARP ORBX MARS UFO ROKT ARKX XOVR