Owns companies tied to spending on video games and esports, including foreign companies held through depositary receipts.
HERO, the Global X Video Games & Esports ETF, is a $62 million ETF whose main story is the productivity handoff. Over the past year it returned −18.4%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
The narrative it carries
Its main narrative, at 0.8 of its exposure.
The productivity handoff →
Software, cloud and online retail: the companies that sell the work AI is starting to do.
The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.
| # | ETF | SHARE | ASSETS | 1 YEAR | COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIBR | 31.1% | $17.32bn | +36.6% | 0.58% |
| 2 | IGV | 25.0% | $13.91bn | −6.3% | 0.38% |
| 3 | FDN | 9.4% | $5.23bn | +4.2% | 0.49% |
| 4 | SKYY | 6.0% | $3.33bn | +23.8% | 0.60% |
| 5 | HACK | 6.0% | $3.33bn | +40.0% | 0.60% |
| 163 other ETFs | 22.5% |
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 168 ETFs on the narrative page →
Also carries: Pure narrative flow →
Disruptive innovation, online consumers, betting and stocks chosen by social sentiment: where the retail crowd puts its money.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HERO | +2.0% | +8.4% | −7.6% | −18.4% | +15.6% | +0.5% |
| The productivity handoffits narrative | +7.7% | +14.7% | +27.0% | +17.9% | +27.9% | +11.2% |
| The marketbroad US ETFs | +0.8% | +2.6% | +14.6% | +16.8% | +22.9% | +12.9% |
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on October 31, 2019: +9.9% a year.
$10,000 invested October 31, 2019
Year by year
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if HERO traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
HERO moves partly with the market. When the market has moved 1%, HERO has tended to move 0.86%.
HERO moves partly with the productivity handoff. When the productivity handoff has moved 1%, HERO has tended to move 0.50%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without HERO in it, so it is not compared with itself.
ETFs it moves most and least like
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in The productivity handoff
Each dot is one of 31 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is the productivity handoff, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
HERO is the 8th cheapest of 26 ETFs in the productivity handoff. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.56% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Narrative exposure
Second narrative: not yet confirmed from a filing.
Common questions
What story is HERO selling?
HERO’s main story is the productivity handoff, which covers software, cloud and online retail: the companies that sell the work AI is starting to do. Its second is pure narrative flow.
Which ETFs compete with HERO?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like HERO’s over the past 3 years are ESPO (0.89), NERD (0.88) and SOCL (0.78).
How has HERO performed against its story?
Over the past year HERO returned −18.4%, the ETFs carrying the productivity handoff +17.9% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.57 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in the productivity handoff? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
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