(REPOST: Reuters)
Westbeck’s Electric Metals Fund will aim “to capitalize on the electric revolution”, the presentation said, investing in 30-50 stocks, many in metals hotspots Australia and Canada.
The fund will bet on both rising and falling share prices of companies focused on the raw materials needed for the development of electric vehicles, such as batteries and supporting infrastructure.
London-based Westbeck will launch the fund next month with the aim of raising $100 million this year before capping the fund at $200 million, a source close to the firm said.
The fund is believed to be one of the first — if not the first — to focus solely on electric vehicles, two lawyers and a hedge fund banker told Reuters.
Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch have said they expect electric vehicles to capture about 12 percent of the global light vehicles market by 2025.
While a push by global automakers to develop more electric vehicles is generating increasing investment interest in battery minerals, much uncertainty remains. Battery raw material lithium, for example, is not rare and there could be surplus supply after a rash of new mining projects come on stream.
Technology is also changing rapidly as car manufacturers look for the cheapest solutions, which could mean different resources are required.