- The Uranium Miners ETF provides exposure to physical uranium and uranium miners and was created in partnership with sector experts Sprott Asset Management.
- An increasing number of countries are looking to nuclear power to address their energy supply issues.
- Nuclear energy has the lowest carbon footprint of any clean energy source and many countries are turning to it as part of their energy transition strategy
May 2023, London
HANetf, Europe’s first independent white-label ETF and ETC platform, and leading provider of digital asset ETPs, is delighted to announce that Sprott Uranium Miners UCITS ETF (URNM) has now passed the $60 million assets under management (AUM) milestone for the first time.
URNM, which tracks the North Shore Sprott Uranium Miners Index, was launched in May 2022, and provides investors with a way to access the growth of nuclear power through exposure to uranium miners. Alongside uranium mining equities, the ETF invests in physical uranium through investment trusts.
The Uranium Miners ETF was launched in partnership with Sprott Asset Management. Sprott are global experts in the uranium space, overseeing a US-listed sister uranium miners ETF with $878 million AUM and a physical uranium trust with over $3.3bn AUM.
In response to the energy crisis, global leaders have been increasingly looking to alternative sources of energy. The United States and European Union member states have earmarked increased funding to support nuclear power, as well as extended the lifecycle of existing nuclear plans.
This was further bolstered recently by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlighting the importance of nuclear energy in moving away from Russian oil and gas. He stated on 24th April, “we’re talking about doubling our tripling our [energy] grid. Nuclear is a real optimal way to do that”.
Asia also has a similarly positive outlook, with China committing to build as many as 150 new nuclear reactors over the next decade and a half. Similarly, Japan plans to generate more nuclear power, a stark change in sentiment given the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Further to this, in July 2022, the European Union agreed to classify nuclear energy as ‘green’, meaning that it can be considered as a valid contributor in the race to net-zero. While nuclear energy is not renewable, its CO2 emissions per gigawatt-hour (GWh) are in fact lower than those of wind, solar, hydro, and biomass energies. As such, nuclear energy could be an ideal solution for countries that are looking to both secure their energy supply, and also reduce their carbon emissions.
This growth of nuclear power is exacerbating a supply deficit for uranium, the feedstock of nuclear power. As a result, many investors believe uranium is on the cusp of a new bull market. Many investors view uranium miners as an attractive way to play this.
Hector McNeil, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of HANetf, comments: “It is great to see the continued growth of our uranium miners ETF as it passes its one-year anniversary. When the ETF was still in the conceptual stage, we expected to see more governments commit to boosting nuclear power in their energy fix. In 2022 this was confirmed, as governments around the world came out in favour of reviving or renewing their nuclear power industries. So far in 2023, that trend shows no signs of going away, and investors are clearly noticing and buying up the Sprott Uranium Miners UCITS ETF (URNM).”
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