The ASX boards have welcomed a new listing this morning. No, it's not exactly an IPO (initial public offering). But it is a new investment, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be precise. Yes, the ETFS Hydrogen ETF (ASX: HGEN) is now officially trading on the ASX share market.
As we covered yesterday, ETFS has now launched a hydrogen-focused ETF product, focusing on the emerging 'hydrogen economy'.
Hydrogen is an element that forms a gas in its rare, pure form. However, it is abundant on earth in water (the H in H2O). Pure hydrogen is a powerful fuel (as the Hindenburg infamously discovered), and can be used to generate and store clean energy. As such, there is a lot of interest in hydrogen's potential future applications, and its role in helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.
But until now, there was no ASX ETF that investors could turn to if they wanted exposure to some of the companies in this exciting space.
New Hydrogen ETF joins the ASX
No longer. The ETFS Hydrogen ETF has just floated on the ASX, meaning any investor can now buy shares, as they would with any other ETF or company.
So how has this new ETF performed so far on its first day of trading?
Well, HGEN units opened this morning at a price of $10.09. At the present time, they are up 0.3% to $10.12 a unit.
Not a spectacular debut in the leagues of some other recent ASX IPOs, but still a solid initial performance one could say.
So what kinds of companies does this new ETF invest in?
Well, according to the provider, this ETF is currently invested in a portfolio of 30 shares. These 30 companies are spread pretty evenly around the world. 27% of the holdings call the United Kingdom home, while another 26.3% do the same for the United States. South Korea is next up with an allocation of 17.1%, followed by Canada with 9.8%.
Here's a list of HGEN's current top 10 holdings:
- Ballard Power Systems Inc (NYSE: BLDP) with a portfolio weighting of 8.5%
- ITM Power plc (LON: ITM) with a weighting of 7.7%
- Ceres Power Holdings plc (LON: CWR) with a weighting of 6.9%
- Linde plc (NYSE: LIN) with a weighting of 4.8%
- Johnson Matthey plc (LON: JMAT) with a weighting of 5.5%
- McPhy Energy SAS (EPA: MCPHY) with a weighting of 1.4%
- Luxfer Holdings plc (NYSE: LXFR) with a weighting of 1.4%
- AFC Energy plc (LON: AFC) with a weighting of 1.2%
- Xebec Adsorption Inc. (TSE: XBC) with a weighting of 0.9%
- Fusion Fuel Green plc (NASDAQ: HTOO) with a weighting of 0.3%
The ETFS Hydrogen ETF tracks the Solactive Global Hydrogen ESG Index, which has delivered a performance of 40% over the past 12 months. HGEN charges a management fee of 0.69% per annum.