Episode summary
The UFO ETF, SpaceX, and AI Infrastructure Plays
ETF Prime
· · Hosts: Nate Geraci, Simeon Hyman · Guests: Andrew Chanin, Paul Baiocchi
Summary
The episode centered on two related themes: the surge of interest in the Procure Space ETF (UFO) and the widening set of investment opportunities tied to AI infrastructure. The host said UFO’s assets rose from about $50 million to over $800 million in a year, alongside nearly 150% performance, and the guest argued that renewed attention reflects a long-building inflection point in space, from cheaper launches to militarization and the coming SpaceX IPO. He also emphasized that the ETF’s index is rules-based and now includes a fast-track path for large space IPOs.
The guest defended UFO’s index approach against newer, actively managed rivals, arguing that investors should want clear rules rather than broad claims about what counts as a space company. He also said the category’s newest attention may validate a thesis he has believed in for years, while warning that some competing products may bring additional risks, especially where illiquid SPVs are involved.
The second guest framed AI as a physical infrastructure story, not just a Mag 7 trade. He said rising data-center demand is pushing investment into utilities, energy, materials, industrials, REITs, commodities, clean energy, and nuclear power. He highlighted several ALPS and related ETFs as ways to express those views, especially through electrification, energy infrastructure, natural resources, and data-center exposure.
Key takeaways
- The guest said UFO’s asset growth and nearly 150% one-year return reflect a broader reappraisal of space as an investable theme, not just a short-term trade.
- The guest argued that SpaceX’s expected IPO could be a major catalyst for the entire space category by drawing attention, capital, and new entrepreneurs.
- The guest said UFO’s index methodology is designed to keep the fund focused on pure-play space exposure rather than turning into a generic aerospace basket.
- The second guest said AI spending ultimately flows into underowned areas like utilities, materials, energy, industrials, and REITs, not just mega-cap tech.
- The second guest described electrification as a secular theme and said an anchor ETF like LEFY can be paired with more targeted funds for energy infrastructure, commodities, clean energy, or nuclear.
- The second guest said REITs, especially data-center and cell-tower exposure, can play an important role in the AI ecosystem.
Notable quotes
“UFO has gone from about $50 million in assets to over $800 million in assets just over the past year”
“Market cap weighted indexes are backward-looking and as you go forward and these sectors grow their footprint in the S&P 500 and in major market indexes”
“seeing that, you know, potentially the largest IPO in in human history, uh, might be this potentially pure play space company, I think is completely eye opening”
“AI is at its core software. And software in all shapes and sizes and in all forms requires hardware. And hardware requires power”
“we believe something like Elfie is actually part of a core allocation. And so thinking about it as an anchor, we truly believe it's an important diversifier”
How the episode opens
Market cap weighted indexes are backward-looking and as you go forward and these sectors grow their footprint in the S&P 500 and in major market indexes a result of relatively strong earnings growth and their relative import to the infrastructure development. The the market cap weighted index will eventually catch up. All right, joining me will be Andrew Channon, CEO of Procure AM, who's behind the Procure Space ETF, ticker symbol UFO, which that's got to be a top 10 ticker symbol of all time.
But this ETF has garnered a lot of investor interest recently. As a matter of fact, just over the past year, listen to this, UFO has gone from about $50 million in assets to over $800 million in assets just over the past year. And along with that, it's had exceptional performance, which obviously that never hurts.
So, if you look, UFO is up nearly 150% over the same time period. 150%. And so Andrew and I are going to discuss that investor interest and performance.
We'll of course dive into the ETF itself, which this is index based and the index it tracks recently updated its methodology to fasttrack big IPOs like SpaceX. So we'll certainly talk about that and then we'll also get into the broader investment opportunity around the entire space theme. This should be an excellent conversation.
Now later I'll be joined by Paul Bayaki, head of fund sales and strategy at SSNC Alps Advisors, who currently offers 26 ETFs, nearly $22 billion in assets. And we're going to spend some time diving into the AI trade, the artificial intelligence trade, but maybe not quite in the way that you expect because we are going to look at several sectors or areas that AI uh is impacting that Paul believes might be flying under the radar of investors.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- ufo etf demand
- spacex ipo
- government ufo files
- space-themed etf competition
- ai capex opportunities
Companies and tickers mentioned
- ProcureAM
- SS&C ALPS Advisors
- SpaceX
Watch the episode
Watch “The UFO ETF, SpaceX, and AI Infrastructure Plays” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
More from ETF Prime
-
Inside the Latest iShares ETF Trends with BlackRock’s Jay Jacobs -
Anthropic IPO & Bitcoin DRIP ETFs -
Baird Strategas’ Todd Sohn on ETFs: What’s New and What’s Next -
The AI Trade: Opportunity, Risk & What Comes Next -
SEC’s Brian Daly Provides an Update on Novel ETFs -
The ETF Stories to Watch for the Rest of 2026
ETF Prime, this episode and its artwork belong to Nate Geraci. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
