Tema Space Innovators ETF
Tema ETFs (issuer); actively managed by PM Yuri Khodjamirian, CFA. Listed on NYSE Arca.
Actively-managed pure-play on the commercial space economy — ~20-40 (currently 41) holdings across launch, satellites/comms, and in-space services. Its differentiator is direct pre-IPO SpaceX exposure via a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), making NASA one of the only retail vehicles that sized SpaceX as a top position before (and through) the June 2026 listing. ~66% US, with Canada (~12%) and Japan (~7%) the main ex-US sleeves; sector tilt is industrials (~52%) then IT and communications.
Top holdings
Held through an SPV (~$207M / 1.35M share-equivalents, ~$1.82T implied valuation as of Jun 26 2026) — NASA's signature edge, the rare retail vehicle with SpaceX as a real top holding through the Jun 2026 IPO. SPV mark is volatile (stockanalysis showed ~12% on Jun 25).
Satellite comms + spectrum (Hughes/Boost) — the satellite-connectivity leg of the thesis
Small-launch + space systems (Neutron) — the marquee public launch pure-play
Canadian satellite systems / robotics (Canadarm lineage) — the largest ex-US position
Direct-to-cell satellite broadband — high-beta space-comms growth name
Satellite broadband / government comms
Lunar landers / cislunar services — NASA-CLPS exposure
Launch + lunar lander (Blue Ghost) — newly-public pure-play
Recent moves
Launched Mar 30, 2026 and became the breakout space ETF of the 2026 SpaceX-IPO cycle — crossed $1B AUM in 37 trading days and ~$2.6B by end-May as retail chased pre-IPO SpaceX access via its SPV. SpaceX listed on Nasdaq Jun 12 2026 (SPCX); NASA's SPV stake was marked up to ~17% of the fund by Jun 26. AUM has since cooled toward ~$1.5B as the IPO frenzy faded.
Our take
Why it matters: NASA is the most aggressive, most SpaceX-levered way to own the space economy in a single ticker — its SPV gave retail a sized SpaceX position (now ~17%) that UFO/ROKT could only approximate, and the active mandate lets it concentrate in launch + sat-comms pure-plays (RKLB, SATS, ASTS, LUNR, FLY). Edge vs a passive space index: direct SpaceX exposure and a manager who can rotate into newly-public names fast. Bull: cleanest single-ticker SpaceX-plus-space-economy proxy, riding a structural $1T-by-2040 space-market thesis. Bear: a ~0.75% expense ratio (pricey), a ~3-month track record entirely inside a SpaceX-IPO melt-up, an opaque/volatile SPV mark that swung the SpaceX weight from ~12% to ~17% in a day, AUM that already round-tripped from $2.6B toward $1.5B, and high single-name concentration — this is a thematic-fad vehicle whose 69% quarter is not a forward estimate. Note the ~18% ex-US sleeve (Canada/Japan/UK names like MDA, 5N Plus, Filtronic); no mainland-China name is framed as a buy here.
Functionally this is one large SpaceX SPV bet wrapped in a diversified space basket — and that SPV is both the whole differentiator and the whole problem.
Its mark is opaque and manager-struck: the issuer's own disclosure implies a ~$1.42T SpaceX valuation (1.35M share-equivalents worth $161.8M, Jul 20), and the SpaceX weight was reported anywhere from ~14.6% (stockanalysis) to ~17.1% (issuer) on overlapping dates. A private mark that moves the top weight several points isn't tracking a market price — it's an estimate NAV inherits daily. Everything else in the book (RKLB, EchoStar, ASTS) can be bought directly and cheaper. NAV sits at $22.51 (Jul 20), down from a reported ~$26.6 late-June mark (single-source, ~15%), while AUM round-tripped from a ~$2.6B end-May peak toward ~$1.1-1.3B — the IPO melt-up is unwinding in real time. The '28.22% 1-year' on the provider site is an artifact; the fund is under four months old with no full-cycle record.
- 2026-07Both levels broke lower: NAV $21.57 (30 Jul) and price $21.62 (31 Jul) after a $20.46 intraday low on 29 Jul, with assets ~$1.02B — under the $1.1-1.3B band cited.
Thesis
NASA's pitch is a single actively-managed ticker that hands retail a *sized* pre-IPO SpaceX position — reported ~14.6-17.1% via an SPV — alongside launch and sat-comms pure-plays (RKLB, EchoStar, ASTS, LUNR, FLY), riding a structural multi-decade commercial-space buildout. The claimed edge is access (direct SpaceX, which passive peers can't size) plus a manager free to rotate fast into newly-public names.
Active, ~37-42 holdings (37 per issuer, 42 per stockanalysis), ~66% US with Canada/Japan/UK sleeves and an industrials-heavy tilt. Publicly-listed space equities plus a 'limited selection' of pre-IPO names, of which SpaceX (held through a special-purpose vehicle) is by far the largest. PM Yuri Khodjamirian; 0.75% net expense ratio; NYSE Arca; launched Mar 30 2026.
Assessment
- Genuinely differentiated access: a sized (~14-17%) pre-IPO SpaceX position via SPV that passive peers (UFO, ARKX) cannot replicate in one retail ticker.
- Active mandate lets the manager rotate into newly-public launch/sat-comms names fast — useful in a sector with a heavy IPO pipeline.
- Pure-play focus on launch + satellites/comms (RKLB, EchoStar, ASTS, LUNR, FLY), not diluted by aerospace-defense primes the way XAR is.
- Clean listed-sleeve trading: ~0.10% 30-day median spread and near-zero premium/discount despite the fund's youth.
- The SPV mark is opaque and manager-struck: issuer disclosure implies a ~$1.42T SpaceX valuation (Jul 20), and the SpaceX weight was reported ~14.6% to ~17.1% on overlapping dates — NAV inherits an estimate, not a market price.
- Single-name concentration: ~14-17% in one unlisted position plus ~10% RKLB and ~9% EchoStar means a handful of names drive the fund.
- Fee: 0.75% net is active-premium pricing, several times a passive space index, and the SPV likely carries embedded sourcing costs not shown in that ratio.
- AUM round-tripped from ~$2.6B (end-May) toward ~$1.1-1.3B; NAV $22.51 (Jul 20), down from a reported ~$26.6 late-June mark (single-source, ~15%) — redemptions can force position/SPV re-marks.
- No track record: under four months old, entirely inside a SpaceX-IPO melt-up; the '1-year 28.22%' figure is a NAV artifact, not a real trailing year.
- 2026-07The same 1,350,259 share-equivalents are now marked at $146.3M, implying ~$1.29T — a ~10% write-down in ten days. SPCX has traded below its $135 IPO price into an Aug 6 lockup freeing up to 911.5M shares.
Record
The 28.22% since-inception run (through Jun 30 — the same figure the provider also labels '1-year', since the fund is only ~3 months old) is almost entirely one trade: the SpaceX SPV marked up through the June listing, amplified by retail flows chasing pre-IPO access. That is not evidence the strategy works across a cycle — it is a single event captured at near-leverage concentration. NAV has since slid to $22.51 (Jul 20) and AUM has bled from its end-May peak — the same mechanism running in reverse as the frenzy faded and both the SPV mark and the listed sleeve re-priced (a reported ~$26.6 late-June NAV mark implying a ~15% drop is single-source, not independently confirmed). Attribution: the SpaceX mark plus a beta-heavy space rally did the work; no ablation shows active security selection added alpha over a passive space basket. Treat the headline quarter as a window, not a forward estimate — no full drawdown has yet been observed.
- 2026-07A full drawdown has now been observed: NASA fell ~26.5-28.8% in July 2026 and sits ~49% below its $42.68 high, in a month the S&P 500 was -0.1%.
Risks & fit
- SPV valuation risk: a manager-struck private mark can lag or overshoot SpaceX's real value; a markdown hits NAV with no traded market to hedge against.
- SpaceX-specific risk: launch failures, Starlink competition, or a post-listing/lockup de-rating flow straight through the top weight.
- Liquidity/lockup: SpaceX shares in the SPV may be transfer-restricted, so the fund cannot freely exit the position it marks daily.
- Concentration + youth: no full-cycle drawdown observed; correlated space-sector selloffs hit the top listed names together.
- Flow reflexivity: a fast-money AUM base means redemptions can force selling of the liquid sleeve while the illiquid SPV stays stuck.
Our skeptical read — that NASA is largely a one-trade vehicle whose edge is an opaque mark — would weaken if, over a full cycle: (1) the SPV's carrying value tracked SpaceX's realized secondary-market or last-round prices with small, disclosed tracking error rather than swinging the top weight several points on the same dates; (2) AUM stabilized instead of continuing to bleed from the peak; and (3) the listed sleeve (RKLB, EchoStar, ASTS, etc.) plus active selection delivered returns clearly above a passive space index net of the 0.75% fee — demonstrating alpha beyond the SpaceX mark and sector beta.
The exposure fits someone who specifically wants sized, single-ticker pre-IPO SpaceX access and accepts a manager-struck private mark, high single-name concentration, active-fee drag, and no track record as the price of that access. It behaves like a concentrated bet on one company plus a space-sector beta sleeve — not a diversified core holding, and not a proxy that trades on transparent market prices.
0.75% net expense ratio — active pricing, several times a passive space index fund. The pre-IPO SPV also carries embedded sourcing/structuring costs that are not captured in the headline ratio.