HSBC launches Metaverse Fund for Clients in Asia

For private banking clients in Asia, HSBC (HSBC), one of the world’s major banks, is launching a discretionary managed portfolio investing in the virtual world.

The bank said in a statement that the strategy intends to exploit global growth potential coming from the development of the metaverse ecosystem over the next decade, adding that the “metaverse is expected to become the next iteration of the internet.”

Virtual reality, augmented reality, and the internet have combined to create the metaverse, an immersive digital world. HSBC said in March that it has purchased a block of land in The Sandbox metaverse to engage with sports, e-sports, and gaming lovers, making it the first global bank to do so. According to Citi, the total addressable market for the metaverse economy might be as high as $13 trillion by 2030.

The portfolio will be actively managed, with an emphasis on five important areas, according to the bank: infrastructure, computing, virtualization, experience and discovery, and human interface.

HSBC’s high net worth and ultra-high net worth professional and accredited investor clients in Asia will be the only ones to benefit from the plan. HSBC Asset Management will be in charge of it.