BlackRock has launched a space technologies Ucits ETF, giving European investors targeted exposure to the expanding global space economy with an index methodology designed to evolve as the public-market opportunity set broadens.
The fund, known by its ticker STAR, aims to capture long-term growth opportunity created by the commercialisation of space by tracking the Stoxx Global Space Satellites and Drones Index, including rocket, satellite and drone manufacturing companies and industry supply chains.
The index applies a two-tier methodology to identify companies deriving at least 25% of revenues from space, drone or satellite-related activities, while also incorporating supply chain relationship data to capture companies with meaningful exposure across the broader space ecosystem.
Space is rapidly transitioning from a government-led domain into a broader industrial ecosystem, defined by a broader mix of agencies and well-capitalised public and private players.
The fund aims to capture companies across the space value chain, backed by government programmes, defence spending and growing private investment, identified through supply chain linkages, ensuring comprehensive exposure as space technologies become increasingly strategic.
BlackRock research highlights that newly listed companies are not usually added to equity indices immediately, creating timing difference between when a company begins trading and when it is incorporated into an index. In response, index methodologies are evolving to reflect the pace of innovation in public markets with faster inclusion approaches increasingly adopted across global indices.
Omar Moufti, thematics and sectors product strategist at BlackRock, said: “As launch costs fall and satellite adoption rises, the space economy is becoming an increasingly important long-term investment theme. STAR captures the full space value chain, spanning rockets, satellites and autonomous technologies, with each layer supporting the next. STAR’s fast-track access and thematic purity create a differentiated way to participate in this expanding opportunity set.”
The ETF is registered for sale in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
