VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF offers diversified exposure to the gaming sector, benefiting from strong hardware and software catalysts in 2025. ESPO stands out among peer ETFs with the lowest expense ratio, highest AUM, superior risk rating, and outperformance in price and overall grades. Key growth drivers include Nintendo's record-breaking Switch 2 launch, Take-Two's GTA VI release, and AI-driven margin expansion and innovation across top holdings.
VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ESPO) earns a hold rating due to premium valuation and near-term technical caution. ESPO trades at a P/E above 24x, with a PEG ratio near 3x, making it expensive for its niche sector exposure. While ESPO has outperformed since late 2022, technicals show weakening momentum and potential for a consolidation phase.
ESPO offers top-tier global exposure to video gaming and eSports, outperforming many ETFs without relying on US mega-cap tech stocks. The ETF's risk-reward profile is excellent, with strong historical returns and resilience during market drawdowns, making it an attractive high-beta play. Macro trends and correlation with the Nasdaq drive ESPO's performance, but future gains may moderate as top holdings have already surged.
| CXA Exchange | US Country |
The fund is an investment entity that primarily focuses on integrating its resources into the burgeoning sector of video gaming and eSports, also recognized as electronic sports. It commits at least 80% of its total assets into securities that are a part of its benchmark index, a global gauge designed to monitor the performance of the international video gaming and eSports market segment. The fund's strategy includes investments in depositary receipts and securities that are denominated in foreign currencies, highlighting its global approach. Given its concentrated investment strategy, it is characterized as non-diversified, meaning it may invest more heavily in fewer securities, making it potentially more volatile than diversified funds.
The fund invests a significant portion of its assets, ensuring at least 80%, into securities that are included in its benchmark index. This strategy is designed to mirror the performance of the global video gaming and eSports market, offering investors exposure to this rapidly growing segment.
The benchmark index tracked by the fund represents the worldwide video gaming and eSports sector. This index is a comprehensive measure of the performance of companies involved in the production, development, and sale of video games, as well as the organization and hosting of eSports events. The tracking of this global index allows the fund to strategically position its investments to benefit from the sector's dynamics.
A part of the fund's investment strategy involves putting assets into depositary receipts. Depositary receipts represent a specific number of shares—or a fraction of a share—of a foreign-based company's stock, traded on a domestic stock market. This approach allows the fund to diversify its holdings into international territories, tapping into the potential of foreign markets without the complexities of direct investments in foreign exchanges.
The fund has the capability to invest in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. This not only diversifies the portfolio from a geographical perspective but also introduces currency fluctuation as a factor that can affect returns, both positively and negatively, thus adding a layer of complexity and opportunity to the fund's investment approach.