Invesco has partnered with investment firm Elwood Asset Management for the launch of its latest ETF, offering exposure to digital assets and blockchain technology.
The Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain UCITS ETF (BCHN) will list on the London Stock Exchange with an ongoing charge of 0.65%.
BCHN is comprised with companies which generate earnings from blockchain technology. Blockchain technology was first brought to attention as the underlying ledger for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. It is essentially a database which records transactions of assets or tokens and has gained significant publicity for its transparency, traceability and access to historical data.
Tracking the performance of the Elwood Blockchain Global Equity Index, BCHN will offer exposure to several sectors and geographies such as information technology, financials and communication services across the US, Japan and Taiwan.
Elwood believes many investors don't fully understand the technology and its potential as it sometimes gets lost amongst cryptocurrency. Blockchain is being used as the underlying ledger for various assets across different industries. Even the art industry is introducing the technology with the likes of Thomas Crown Art, an art-tech agency, which uses Ethereum blockchain to track and verify the authenticity of artwork.
Bin Ren, CEO of Elwood, explains, "We are beginning to see the technology being used by financial services companies in particular, but we expect greater application of blockchain technology across a wide range of industries. We believe the potential for blockchain to change the global economy is greatly underappreciated in today's market, much like the internet was in the beginning, when most people couldn't see past its usefulness for email."
Index Performance
Source: Solactive
The Elwood Blockchain Global Equity Index, BCHN's benchmark, has started off the year strongly. Despite having a stagnant last two weeks, the index has seen a 10% rise since the new year.
