GameStop, AMC and a new meme ETF?

GameStop shares have gained 956% in '21 with earnings on tap Wednesday

GameStop and AMC are loved by retail investors and the Reddit trading community, and now the exchange-traded fund industry wants in on the action. 

An application for The Roundhill Meme ETF is sitting with the Securities and Exchange Commission after being filed late last month and aims to track the performance of the so-called "meme stocks." 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AMC AMC ENTERTAINMENT 4.12 -0.05 -1.20%
GME GAMESTOP CORP. 21.33 +0.50 +2.40%

The passive managed fund, according to the filing, notes that at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be invested in meme stocks defined as such in the filing:

  • Meme stocks are equity securities, including American depositary receipts
  • Exhibit a combination of elevated social media activity (i.e., the number of times a company or its ticker is mentioned on specific social media platforms)
  • High short interest (i.e., the number of an issuer’s shares that have been sold short but which have not yet been covered or closed out), both of which are indicators of market sentiment

Source: SEC Filing 

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Roundhill is a "registered investment adviser and ETF sponsor focused on thematic and sector-specific investing," according to the firm. Due to the quiet period, Roundhill told FOX Business it is restricted from commenting until the fund is live on Nov. 21, 2021, pending SEC approval. 

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AMC, which is among the more high-profile meme names, has seen its shares rise over 2,156% this year, often experiencing volatile sessions. 

And the list of meme stocks has grown to include lesser-known names, such as Clover and Support.com. 

Still, the idea of an ETF connecting to these heavily traded retail investor favorites is not new.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BUZZ VANECK SOCIAL SENTIMENT ETF - USD DIS 22.40 +0.19 +0.86%

Earlier this year, Buzz Holdings Founder Jamie Wise, with the help of Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy, launched the VanEck Social Sentiment  BUZZ ETF, which uses artificial intelligence to track the top 75 large-cap stocks each month based on positive social media chatter. The fund holds stocks with market capitalizations of over $5 billion.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
NVDA NVIDIA CORP. 138.07 +3.27 +2.43%
PLTR PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC. 43.40 -0.11 -0.25%

Along with AMC and GameStop, its largest holdings include Nvidia and Palantir Technologies, according to the company. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
SP500 S&P 500 5859.85 +44.82 +0.77%

The fund has gained 5.7% since its launch, underperforming the S&P 500’s 17.7% rise over the same time frame.