Video

people playing video games

VIDEO — ETF Expert: Gaming Boom Will Go Beyond Pandemic Effects

By Bryan Mc GovernMar 31, 2021 08:30PM

Bryan Mc Govern

Bryan is a Senior Editor with INN. After graduating from the Langara journalism program he did some freelance reporting with community newspapers in British Columbia. He initially wrote about the life science space for INN and now spends his time covering the marijuana market, from Canadian LPs to US-based companies, and the impact of this sector on investors.

John Patrick Lee, VanEck: Gaming Sector Boom to Outlast Pandemicyoutu.be

After a monumental year, can gaming investments keep up the pace in 2021? One exchange-traded fund (ETF) expert thinks it may be just the beginning for the entire industry.

John Patrick Lee is an ETF product manager at VanEck, which specializes in investments through ETFs. The firm’s offerings include the VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (NASDAQ:ESPO).

The Investing News Network (INN) spoke with Lee about recent trends in gaming investments and what he sees as the current key cornerstones of the sector.

While there is no doubt that COVID-19 helped boost the gaming sector as people spent more time at home, Lee believes the market was in a good place prior to the outbreak and will continue to thrive post-pandemic. “We view that as an acceleration of trends that are already in place,” he told INN.

Research firm Newzoo estimated the entire value of the gaming sector at US$174.9 billion in 2020, which represents a 20 percent increase from 2019. It expects to see the value of the gaming market keep climbing and foresees it reaching US$217.9 billion by 2023.

Lee said gaming’s ability to satisfy changing consumer demand trends when it comes to media consumption is a big reason for its growth. The ETF expert said consumers want to interact with the media they consume, a trend he linked to user power in social media.

The top five holdings for VanEck’s gaming fund are Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Tencent Holdings (HKEX:0700,OTC Pink:TCTZF), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Sea (NYSE:SE) and Nintendo (TSE:7974,OTC Pink:NTDOF). It also holds large game publishers such as Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI).

Lee is encouraged by the ways gaming can approach new revenue models. Game makers have found success with free-to-play games that have monthly purchasing drops, as well as in-game buying options. While these games are free, consumers can be incentivized to spend money on improving their experience through cosmetics or in-game advantages.

Fortnite is one of the biggest examples of this game category, and Lee referred to its success as something the entire gaming industry can continue to grow on. “It’s this idea that you can launch this amazing free game, get people in your system and they’re spending money,” Lee said.

Check out the video for the full conversation with Lee. For more from VanEck, click here for the firm’s recent online conversation on what it anticipates in terms of the potential for gaming investments.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

Expert Interviews

CEO Interviews

Up next

Andrew O'Donnell: Gold, Silver, Energy Transition — Where I'm Putting My Money in 2025

By Charlotte McLeodJan 20, 2025

Charlotte McLeod

With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.

She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.

Andrew O'Donnell, founder of the Market Mindset, discussed the sectors he's bullish on in 2025, mentioning gold and silver, as well as uranium. He also shared his thoughts on what it will take to bring generalist investors back into the mining sector.

For O'Donnell, cryptocurrency enthusiasm makes it clear that people are willing to put money into high-risk, high-reward sectors — the question is how the resource industry can attract more of this capital.

"All you'd need to do is take a big stance, top down from government, and spend three months to convince people — to reroute the conversation from being 'all extraction is bad' to 'if you want to save the Earth, extraction is the only answer,'" he told the Investing News Network.

For the time being, O'Donnell believes it's important for investors to be selective.

"I think this year could be a very pivotal year — I'm very optimistic that it will be," he said.

"I don't think we'll see the 'all ships will sail' kind of idea that we've seen in the past from juniors. But there are so many, and so many qualified projects that should be doing so much better than they are, and that should give people some hope."

Watch the interview above for more of his thoughts on the topics mentioned above.

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

David Erfle: Cash Position Never Larger, Chaos and Volatility Ahead

By Charlotte McLeodJan 16, 2025

Charlotte McLeod

With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.

She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.

Speaking to the Investing News Network, David Erfle, editor and founder of Junior Miner Junky, shared his outlook for gold and silver in 2025, also explaining what he thinks has been holding gold stocks back.

For Erfle, interest from generalist investors is the key missing ingredient, but it may finally return this year.

"That's what we need — we need to get that generalist investor interest back into this sector. They left in 2012, 2013 and they haven't returned," he explained during the conversation.

"That's created this incredible opportunity in gold stocks, and especially in juniors. We've got a lot of them that are bifurcating higher and doing well, but most are still underowned and definitely being ignored by the generalist investor."

Even so, Erfle suggested that market participants be cautious in 2025.

"Be very careful this year in this market. Build up some cash, have some physical gold, have some junk silver just in case," he said. "Personally, as far as my investments are concerned ... I've never had a cash position this large before, because I'm really concerned about the volatility and the chaos that I think 2025 is going to bring."

Watch the interview for more of his thoughts on gold and silver.

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

John Feneck: Gold, Silver, Copper and More — 7 Stocks I'm Bullish on for 2025

By Charlotte McLeodJan 15, 2025

Charlotte McLeod

With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.

She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.

Speaking to the Investing News Network, John Feneck, portfolio manager and consultant at Feneck Consulting, shared his outlook for gold and silver prices, saying he's bullish on both precious metals.

"The technical setup for gold looks absolutely beautiful — if you look at a 10 year, 15 year, 20 year chart it looks absolutely great," he said. "Now you've (also) got the dynamic of Trump coming in office. I don't see how that's going to cause less volatility, and gold loves uncertainty and volatility, so I think we're going to have a great 2025."

Feneck also gave updates on mining stocks he's watching right now.

On the gold side, he mentioned US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU), First Nordic Metals (TSXV:FNM,OTCQB:FNMCF) and Inflection Resources (CSE:AUCU,OTCQB:AUCUF), which also has a copper component. Feneck also spoke about Aftermath Silver (TSXV:AAG,OTCQX:AAGFF), a company in which Canadian billionaire Eric Sprott has a large position.

He's also interested in copper-focused Questcorp Mining (CSE:QQQ,OTC Pink:QQCMF), and when it comes to "special situations" he has companies like Guardian Metal Resources (LSE:GMET,OTCQX:GMTLF), Demesne Resources (CSE:DEME,OTCQB:DEMRF) and Angkor Resources (TSXV:ANK,OTCQB:ANKOF) on his radar.

Looking forward, Feneck emphasized that he's positive on the resource sector as a whole.

"I think that this year is going to shape up to be a really, really good year for commodities in general," he said.

"And if Trump can pull off the big 'what if' and get Putin to come to the table — that's going to be a game changer for a lot of these commodities that have been underwater, like nickel, platinum and palladium, etc."

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: Questcorp Mining is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.

The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

Alain Corbani: Gold's Clear Path to US$3,000 in 2025, Silver's Volatile Outlook

By Charlotte McLeodJan 08, 2025

Charlotte McLeod

With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.

She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.

Speaking to the Investing News Network, Alain Corbani, head of mining of Montbleu Finance and manager of the Global Gold and Precious Fund, recapped gold's 2024 performance and looked forward to 2025.

His price target for the year ahead is US$3,000 per ounce, and in his view, the direction of interest rates in the US will be the most important factor to watch. When it comes to silver, he's expecting even more volatility than usual.

Corbani also shared his thoughts on the gold stocks, explaining why they aren't rising across the board yet.

"The sector has not performed in a homogenous way — it hasn't. It only performs in a homogenous way at the end — at the peak of a cycle," he commented during the conversation. "For those who don't know where we stand, I can tell them already that we are not at the peak of the cycle — we are far from the peak of the cycle."

Watch the interview above for more of Corbani's thoughts on gold and silver in 2025.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

Uranium Investing

Ben Finegold: Uranium in 2025 — Price Outlook, Plus Stocks, Supply and Demand

By Charlotte McLeodJan 06, 2025

Charlotte McLeod

With an eye for detail and over a decade of experience covering the mining and metals sector, Charlotte is passionate about bringing investors accurate and insightful information that can help them make informed decisions.

She leads the Investing News Network's video and event coverage, and guides a team of writers reporting on niche investment markets.

Speaking to the Investing News Network, Ben Finegold, director at Ocean Wall, shared his 2025 outlook for uranium, saying that for him and his firm it remains the most compelling commodity story.

While the market has cooled off since 2024's strong start, Finegold expects both term and spot prices to rise.

He sees the term price ending 2025 in the US$95 to US$100 per pound range, although that could happen sooner given that some contracts are already being signed at those levels. In terms of the spot price, it should rise "well over US$100."

Finegold acknowledged that the past year has been tough for some investors, but emphasized that the uranium narrative is "very, very unique." A key reason for that is the lack of available supply-side response as demand grows.

"It's very, very rare that you see a supply deficit widen over a period where the price has risen three to four times. We remain really excited about uranium, not just (in 2025), but really over the next several years," he explained.

"In terms of commodity stories, it's where we're placing our own bets."

Watch the interview above for more of Finegold's thoughts on uranium, including stock opportunities.

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

Bryan Mc Govern

Bryan Mc Govern

Senior Editor

Bryan is a Senior Editor with INN. After graduating from the Langara journalism program he did some freelance reporting with community newspapers in British Columbia. He initially wrote about the life science space for INN and now spends his time covering the marijuana market, from Canadian LPs to US-based companies, and the impact of this sector on investors.