Procure Space ETF (UFO) Tops $1 Billion as SpaceX Nears IPO

Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, discussed the Procure Space ETF (UFO) on the “ETF of the Week” podcast the day before SpaceX’s initial public offering. Rosenbluth reported the fund had climbed above $1 billion in assets and that SpaceX was expected to be added to the ETF once shares became available.

Rosenbluth disclosed that VettaFi is the index provider for the ETF and receives an index licensing fee. He also noted that VettaFi is not the issuer, sponsor or seller of UFO and does not manage the ETF’s issuance or trading.

UFO entered the year at about $100 million in assets and rose rapidly as several holdings gained value. Through May the ETF was up roughly 170 percent. Rosenbluth described recent share-price movement: the fund traded just under $40 at the start of the year, approached $70 in mid-May, then fell to the low $50s around the time of the SpaceX listing.

Rosenbluth confirmed the fund did not own SpaceX at the time of the interview and expected the company to be added to UFO in the near term. He said SpaceX would likely enter the ETF at a mid-single-digit percentage of holdings initially, with that allocation increasing as more public shares came to market. “The Procure Space ETF does not own SpaceX yet,” he stated.

On broader indexes, Rosenbluth explained that SpaceX’s public float would determine its weight. For cap-weighted benchmarks like the Russell 1000, the initial public float would likely result in a much smaller weighting, potentially well under 1 percent, because most shares would remain privately held.

UFO’s portfolio includes companies tied to satellite communications and launch services. Rosenbluth cited Rocket Lab, Globalstar, SiriusXM Holdings and EchoStar as examples of current holdings that provide exposure across different parts of the space sector.

On portfolio construction, Rosenbluth described thematic ETFs such as UFO as satellite positions rather than core holdings. He said many advisors allocate up to 10 percent of a client portfolio to thematic or fast-growing strategies to complement core allocations to broad U.S. indexes. “I still think that UFO is going to be a strong satellite position,” Rosenbluth added.

The podcast discussed valuation and volatility around the SpaceX IPO and recent price swings in UFO. Rosenbluth emphasized that the conversation was informational and not a recommendation to buy or sell.