Fund Aims to Offer Investors New, Innovative Way to Grow Wealth
TORONTO, May 18, 2022 /CNW/ – Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, one of Canada’s leading investment firms, today launched Fidelity Total Metaverse Index ETF (the “ETF”) and Fidelity Total Metaverse Index ETF Fund (the “ETF Fund”).
“At Fidelity, we are proud to offer financial advisors and investors innovative investment strategies that aim to grow their wealth over the long-term, and the metaverse is yet another prime example,” said Kelly Creelman, Senior Vice President, Products and Marketing, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC. “Leveraging Fidelity’s trusted investment expertise, vast global network and research capabilities, Fidelity Total Metaverse Index ETF will expand Fidelity’s thematic investing line up and offer investors access to companies that may revolutionize the digital world.”
The metaverse is a topic that has gained increasing mindshare in recent years. In late 2021, metaverse-focused investment products began to enter the Canadian retail market. Like Web 2.0 or smartphones did over the past two decades, the metaverse may radically evolve our digital experiences, from entertainment and shopping to virtual business meetings. The potential market opportunity is estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues[1], and many companies are increasingly engaging in this space.
The metaverse is a term used to describe a potential future state of the Internet characterized by a network of augmented reality and virtual worlds that can be experienced persistently and in a shared environment by large numbers of users. The metaverse allows people to engage in various online experiences in a more immersive way, using devices such as virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) headsets.
Given that the metaverse may be the next iteration of virtual experience and therefore has the potential to play a key role in many aspects of our lives, it may represent a significant investment opportunity. Development in areas such as computing power, digital infrastructure, extended reality technologies including VR and AR headsets, and digital payment processing may be critical in paving the way going forward.
The Fidelity Total Metaverse Index ETF and ETF Fund will provide financial advisors and investors exposure to companies that are expected to drive the construction of the experiences, capabilities, and economy of the metaverse, in one convenient product.
The Fidelity Total Metaverse Index ETF seeks to replicate, to the extent reasonably possible and before fees and expenses, the performance of the Fidelity Canada Total Metaverse Index.
The target composition of Fidelity Canada Total Metaverse Index is approximately:
85% in the Metaverse category, and
15% in the Digital Payments & Crypto Industry category. Exposure to Digital Payments & Crypto Industry is capped at 15% of the total index.
The ETF and ETF Fund will be sub-advised by Geode Capital Management LLC, a global systematic investment manager with over US $1 trillion in assets under management as at December 31, 2021.
At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals.
As a privately-owned company, our people and world class resources are committed to doing what is right for investors and their long-term success. Our clients have entrusted us with $190 billion in assets under management (as at May 17, 2022) and they include individuals, financial advisors, pension plans, endowments, foundations and more.
We are proud to provide investors a full range of domestic, international and global equity and income-oriented mutual funds, ETFs, asset allocation strategies, managed portfolios, sustainable investing products, alternative mutual funds and a high net worth program. Fidelity is available through a number of advice-based distribution channels including financial planners, investment dealers, banks and insurance companies.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, brokerage fees and expenses may be associated with investments in mutual funds and ETFs. Please read the mutual fund or ETF’s prospectus, which contains detailed investment information, before investing. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed. Their values change frequently, and investors may experience a gain or a loss. Past performance may not be repeated.
INDEX PROVIDER DISCLAIMER
The ETF is indexed to Fidelity Canada Total Metaverse Index. The Index is designed to reflect the performance of stocks of issuers from around the world that are related to the metaverse and/or its digital economy. The ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Fidelity Product Services LLC (“FPS”). FPS makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the ETF. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship FPS has with Fidelity and any related funds/ETFs.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity may be in person this year for the first time since 2019, but that hasn’t stopped brands and agencies from thinking virtual. Not only are some marketers making Cannes sessions available in virtual real estate platforms, but parties and activities outside of the normal programming are also being offered in the metaverse.
A common theme running through many of these activations is democratizing what has hitherto been an inaccessible event for many in the industry. The ticket price for Cannes is steep, not to mention fees for transportation and a hotel. But through virtual experiences, which can be accessed from anywhere using only a desktop or sometimes a mobile phone, more of adland can celebrate creativity in the industry.
Of course, not all the metaverse activations at Cannes are designed specifically with this goal in mind, yet the democratizing effect is still there. Marketers may be realizing that the virtual tools they use to reach consumers can also help them reach each other.
Here are some of the ways that marketers are activating in the metaverse during Cannes.
Certified LGBT Owned Business, Fun Team Events, Co-hosts one of the first Metaverse Pride Parades and Drag Queen Bingo Events on Thursday, June 30th, 2022 in Virbela’s New Metaverse Campus
ATLANTA, June 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Fun Team Events is set to co-host one of the first metaverse Pride Parades and Drag Queen Bingo Events in Virbela’s new open campus on Thursday, June 30th, 2022 at 2PM ET. This event is open to all and gives individuals the opportunity to celebrate Pride Month and check out the metaverse space. Participants can also learn about notable stories and resources related to LGBTQ+ experiences through Virbela’s Pride Month exhibit.
“Virbela builds engaging experiences to inspire our community and drive education around important topics,” said Sarah Segrest, VP of Community at Virbela. “Our Pride Month exhibit highlights the positive and celebrates success, while acknowledging the difficulties of past and present. We’re excited to partner with Fun Team Events to bring this Pride Parade to life in the metaverse.”
“As a certified LGBT-owned business, Pride Month is such a special time for us. We’re thrilled to partner with Virbela on this Pride Month celebration. Our team loves hosting events in the metaverse and we can’t wait to share this fun experience with others in the community,” said AJ Seliga, CEO, Fun Team Events.
Everyone is welcome and newcomers can enter the metaverse earlier to get acclimated to the space and dress up their avatar ahead of the Virbela Pride Parade. There will be prizes for the “Most Fun and Fabulous” avatar and bingo game winners. San Francisco-based Drag Queen, Pollo Del Mar, will be the Grand Marshall for the Parade and will emcee the Pride Bingo Event on the Virbela beach after the parade.
About Fun Team Events: Fun Team Events (https://www.funteamevents.com/) hosts custom virtual and metaverse events for corporate clients and non-profit organizations. These events include Team Trivia, Drag Queen Bingo, Office Olympics, and much more. Fun Team Events’ U.S. clients are Amazon, Google, EY, Home Depot, Anthem, Johnson & Johnson and many more including many up-and-coming tech startups. Fun Team Events is a certified LGBT-owned business with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and a proud member of the OUT Georgia Business Alliance.
When Jackson Aw was introduced to blockchain technology in 2018, he “didn’t get it at all.”
“Can someone dumb it down even further for me? Like, can you just tell me what I can get as a consumer?”
That was four years ago. Today, Aw, seems to have the answer to that question.
The 32-year-old Singaporean, who runs Mighty Jaxx — a multi-million dollar toy company that produces collectibles and lifestyle products — has incorporated blockchain into his products.
A blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records every transaction that has taken place. It also cannot be tampered with or changed retroactively.
CNBC Make It finds out why it “makes sense” for the collectibles empire to tap into blockchain capabilities, and bet on the metaverse.
Unique certificates
Mighty Jaxx, which was founded in 2012, has partnered with some of the biggest global brands and visual artists, producing trendy collectibles that incorporate pop culture and design.
Aw said the company has since sold millions of toy collectibles to people in more than 80 countries.
Mighty Jaxx’s limited-edition collectibles can cost up to $1,200 on its website, but in the secondary marketplace they can fetch “five to ten times” more than its original value, said Aw.
Jackson Aw’s advice for young entrepreneurs? “Fear will always exist. But the question is, what do you make of that?”
Eli Lo
But there is one problem.
“When you want to sell the product, the number one question everywhere is ‘Is it authentic?'”
Aw added: “For collectibles, what [sellers] do is that they take photos of the figurine and post it on Facebook groups, asking people to do an authenticity check.”
However, Aw was not satisfied with this method of authentication.
“Whose word is it on? Where’s the provenance of it? So we thought, okay, that’s what we need.”
Mighty Jaxx designed a Near-Field Communication chip, that is embedded into each toy. “With our app, you can [scan the chip], register your ownership of the item,” said the company’s founder Jackson Aw.
Eli Lo
Mighty Jaxx designed a near-field communication chip and embedded one into each toy. NFC technology enables short-range, wireless communication between two devices.
“With our app, you can [scan the chip], register your ownership of the item [to show] it’s an authentic Mighty Jaxx product,” Aw said.
Powered by blockchain, the platform issues and validates unique, tamperproof certificates for every product. It also provides a digital footprint when ownership of an item changes.
…content and intellectual property is key, because without any of this [visual] representation, that technology does nothing
Jackson Aw
Founder, Mighty Jaxx
“If Jay Chou or JJ Lin owned that figurine prior to you, that is definitely far more valuable than me owning it,” Aw jokes. Jay Chou and JJ Lin are popular Mandarin pop singers.
Providing reliable authentication through blockchain technology is just “the beginning” for Mighty Jaxx.
A ‘phygital’ edge
With the nonfungible token market seeing explosive growth in 2021, Aw said that was when there was “a change in culture as we knew it.”
“[Being] artists and creators in general … has always been more of a service-based work. But now it flipped. Now, content and intellectual property is key, because without any of this [visual] representation, that technology does nothing,” Aw explained.
“Nothing speaks louder than visual form.”
NFTs are crypto-based digital assets that also function like collectibles — something that Mighty Jaxx is no stranger to.
Hence, it “makes sense” for Aw to venture into the space, by offering fans exclusive digital experiences with physical collectibles.
“When you buy our NFTs, you get access and the opportunity to purchase the physical manifestation of it in that design. So only this bunch of people would be able to purchase this figure,” said Aw.
“Because only they could do it and they can combine both asset classes together, it generates even higher value for them.”
Collectors who buy Mighty Jaxx’s NFTs get exclusive access to purchase physical manifestation of the same design, which “generate even more value for them,” said Jackson Aw.
Mighty Jaxx
Aw believes that is Mighty Jaxx’s “phygital” edge over its competitors — being able to offer both digital and physical assets.
“The fact that we create digital assets before we produce the physical toys … means that we can go to market quicker as well,” he added.
“I can’t think of, you know, 10 other companies doing that in the whole world, simply because the work that goes into creating a hardware or a [physical] collectible, it’s naturally just a steeper learning curve.”
Metaverse expansion
In 2021, Mighty Jaxx launched its first collection of NFT trading cards, featuring cats that look like the Chinese cuisine, dim sum.
“We launched 6,000 units, within … two seconds, they were just sold out,” Aw said.
Mighty Jaxx got its big break with DC Comics by scoring a licensing partnership in 2015, allowing it to “restyle” the creative intellectual property.
Since then, it has partnered with renowned brands to reach fandoms all around the world, from Adidas, Hasbro and Nickelodeon, to Formula 1, Sesame Street and Netflix.
Aw says “there’s a lot more work to be done,” with plans to expand its IP collaborations into the metaverse as well.
The metaverse is a set of virtual worlds where people live, work and play.
Mighty Jaxx’s first collection of NFT trading cards were sold out within “2 seconds,” said Jackson Aw.
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