Robotics and automation stocks have performed three to six times better than general equity indices with over 17 percent internal rate of return over the last 10 years.”
— Jonathan Cohen, Managing Partner, RoboCap
Just the third
Another robotics/automation fund has emerged, this time RoboCap LLP, a European Union fund based in London. There are only three such funds in the world.
It’s hard to believe that there are not more funds specializing in robotics and automation stocks, but there aren’t. When one does emerge from the global financial ecosystem, it’s always cause for great notice and a look at who the debutantes are and what they are selling.
Of course, it’s always going to robotics and automation, but what’s the product mix on which stocks they’re picking as potential winners? Better yet, what’s their investment thesis?
Previous to RoboCap (January 2016), MLRUEIN:ID there was Swiss-based Pictet Robotics (September 2015) PIROIUS:LX and the Dallas/London-based RoboGlobal (2013) NASDAQ: ROBO
See related: Robot Pride Day for NASDAQ’s Closing Bell
See related: Make Room for Another Robotics-themed Fund (Pictet Robotics)
In a nutshell
Robocap is the brainchild of Sturgeon Ventures and the investment advisor RoboCap, hence the fund’s name. They are styling the fund as a pure play robotics fund, The RoboCap UCITS Fund.
UCITS stands for “Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities,” and UCITS funds can be sold to any investor within the EU under a harmonized regulatory regime.
The firms behind the fund say that it is designed “to give investors the opportunity to take part in the industrial revolution being driven by the advent of robotics and automation technology.”
“Robotics and automation are creating disruptive changes in every single industry,” said Jonathan Cohen, a managing partner at RoboCap. “But we are now at an inflection point because the cost and performance of robots and the average wages in manufacturing are now converging.”
“The technology is improving daily, so now is the time to invest, yet there are few vehicles that enable investors to benefit from the sector,” he added. “But as interest grows, there will be a need for specialist advisers giving access to future industry leaders. Our aim is to become the leading investor in robotics and automation listed stocks, delivering the best risk-adjusted returns for investors.”
The goal
“The fund will target double-digit annual returns by investing in listed companies mainly in the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe,” according to AlphaQ World. “The focus will be on pure-play investments, but companies benefiting from the theme will also be considered. The fund will focus on just 22-30 long positions with an average holding period of approximately 12 months.”
The fund is offered to all main investor types, including retail, with a minimum investment of $10,000.
