With the NCAA March Madness U.S. basketball tournament getting the coronavirus pandemic greenlight to take place this year, sports fans everywhere are gearing up for their favorite teams turn to play again this upcoming season following a year of delayed games and cancelled events.
For the investor, there are multiple ways to get into the sports industry. The easiest way is through exchange-traded funds (ETF) which hold may stocks with one trade and can be centered around a common theme. Thematic ETFs are becoming more and more diverse these days as investors look for more targeted investing strategories. Investing in the sports industry is no different.
Last week, Roundhill Investments launched the first ETF designed to invest in professional sports teams and leagues. Called the Roundhill MVP ETF (NYSE: MVP), this fund consists of global professional sports teams and professional sports leagues, as well as companies engaged in the sports media and athletic apparel sectors.
MVP is actively managed, seeking capital growth, and its holdings are determined on the basis of exposure to the theme of professional sports. The fund's top holdings include Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS), Manchester United (NYSE: MANU), Nike (NYSE: NKE), and Adidas (OTC: ADDYY).
"The professional sports industry had a difficult year in 2020, but we are confident that a successful vaccine rollout will bring back fans to stadiums worldwide," said Will Hershey, Roundhill co-founder, in a statement.
Beyond investing in directly into professional sports teams and leagues, there is also the growing industry of sports betting, which is gaining in popularity as more states legalize it. There are a two good options for investing in sports betting: Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (NYSE: BETZ) and the VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF (NASDAQ: BJK).
Roundhill's successful BETZ fund is a tiered weight portfolio of global companies that include operators of in-person and/or online sports books, online gambling platforms, and other provides of technology infrastructures that support the industry. BETZ top holdings include DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) and Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN).
VanEck's BJK offers an even broader portfolio of sports betting companies as well as other entertainment players like casinos and casino hotels, lottery services, as well as gaming services, technology and equipment. The fund's top holdings include Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM).