Navi MF plans fund to invest in metaverse firms 

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal’s Navi Mutual Fund, which plans to launch innovative funds for the Indian investors, has filed draft document with the capital market regulator for a fund that would invest in companies connected with the metaverse. 

The Navi Metaverse ETF Fund of Fund would be an “open-ended fund of fund scheme investing in units of overseas ETF’s which provide exposure to companies that are positioned to benefit from the advancement of Metaverse”, as per the draft document filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). 

The scheme will be benchmarked against the Solactive Metaverse Theme Index, which comprises of around 40 companies including AMD, Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Fubotv, Electronic Arts, Intuitive Surgical, Microsoft, Nvidia Corp, Qualcomm and Twitter, among others. 

Simply put, metaverse refers a network of 3D virtual worlds where individuals can interact through virtual “avatars” and companies can do business as well. 

Earlier, Navi MF had filed draft documents for innovative funds to invest in companies in segments like blockchain and electric vehicles. It also plans to launch dedicated funds for exposure in the US and China markets. 

In December 2021, Navi MF had filed document for launching a World Index Fund of Fund. Till date, the fund house has filed draft document for 21 schemes. 

Backed by Navi Technologies, the asset management business commenced through the acquisition of Essel Asset Management Company in February 2021. Its first passive fund - Navi Nifty 50 Index Fund –launched in July 2021 had an AUM of Rs 167.32 crore as on December 31, 2021. 

Navi Technologies has already filed its draft document with Sebi for a public issue. Bansal co-founded Navi with Ankit Agarwal, a former banker who has held senior positions across Deutsche Bank and Bank of America.