A competing existing fund to UFO, the SPDR Kensho Final Frontiers ETF (XKFF) from State Street Global Advisors, employs artificial intelligence and a quantitative weighting methodology to create a portfolio of companies involved in the exploration of “final frontiers” including outer space and the deep sea.
This index-tracking fund launched last October and has just $3 million in assets. It charges an expense ratio of 0.45 percent, or 30 basis points less than UFO's fee.
That’s a high sticker price for an index-based fund, but Tull believes his new product will produce results to justify its cost. “We think the opportunity is real, and we also believe the expense ratio is appropriate for a theme-based product,” he says.
ProcureAM (the AM stands for asset management), a wholly owned subsidiary of Procure Holdings LLC, has also filed with the SEC for the Procure Advanced Global Warming ETF. Tull didn’t give a time frame for that product’s expected launch date.