The new index fund launched by Legal & General offers investors exposure to providers of key enabling technologies

Legal & General

Legal & General launches new robotics index. (Credit: Unsplash/Franck V.)

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has launched Legal & General Global Robotics and Automation Index Fund, which is its first unlisted thematics index fund targeting the UK retail market.

The new fund vehicle allows investors to capture the investment opportunities created through the growing adoption of robotics and automation technologies across all areas of society.

Launched in partnership with ROBO Global, the new fund is offered for UK retail investors, primarily financial advisers and wealth managers.

The fund tracks the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation UCITS Index, providing investors with access to the same strategy of L&G ROBO Global Robotics and Automation exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is claimed to have amassed more than $1bn in assets under management.

The new fund from the company has been designed to give investors broad exposure to the global value chain of robotics and automation companies as well as enabling technologies.

The index has been built and managed by research professionals with guidance from industry experts, academics and entrepreneurs.

The index has 87 companies across 14 countries

The index presently has 87 constituent companies across 14 countries and 12 proprietary subsectors.

The fund also offers a diversified market cap exposure with nearly 75% in small and mid-cap companies and less than 2% overlap with traditional benchmarks.

With growing adoption of robots and automation, enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI), the robotics and automation sector is expected to be worth $353bn by 2024, according to ROBO Global, Transparency Market Research, 2018.

LGIM UK retail sales head James Crossley said: “Investors are increasingly turning to thematic investment strategies, both to access the opportunities created by the disruptive megatrends shaping our society, and to provide greater diversification in portfolios.

“We have extensive experience in providing investors with access to these long-term structural trends and have seen significant demand for access to automation as an investment theme, via our robotics and automation ETF. We are excited to be launching a Unit Trust version to provide a broader set of investors with cost-effective exposure to this unique and high-growth strategy.”