Global X Video Games & Esports ETF

Global X Video Games & Esports ETF (HERO) is an index fund that tracks the Solactive Video Games & Esports Index. The index holds about 40 game publishers, platforms and hardware makers from the US, Japan, South Korea and other markets. HERO's 0.50% expense ratio ties Roundhill's NERD for the lowest among seven similar funds, whose average is 0.59%. It is a narrow, volatile bet on one industry, not a broad market fund.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, HERO returned -15.4%, 3rd of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was -0.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 20% and regained its old high 0.9 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-33.4%); its best was 2020 (+91.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 54% (Feb 12, 2021 to Nov 9, 2022), not yet recovered.

As of May 31, 2026, the fund held 43 securities; the ten largest made up 59.2% of assets.

• Over the three months to May 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $17.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -3.28%, +3.60%, -7.09%.

HERO tracks the Solactive Video Games & Esports Index. Solactive AG builds the index and is independent of Global X Management Company, the fund's adviser. As of January 31, 2026, a company needed a stock market value of at least $200 million and average daily trading of at least $2 million over six months to qualify. A language-processing algorithm scans filings and earnings-call transcripts for gaming keywords. Solactive then checks revenue: a company must earn at least 50% of its sales from video games and esports. That covers making or publishing games, streaming or distributing them, owning esports teams or leagues, and building gaming hardware.

The index had 42 stocks as of January 31, 2026. It uses modified market-cap weighting: bigger companies get bigger weights, but caps stop any one stock from dominating. The index is rebuilt and reweighted twice a year. The fund generally buys every index stock in about the same proportions. It may hold a representative sample instead when buying everything is impractical. Portfolio turnover was 30.12% in the latest prospectus.

HERO is a plain stock ETF, with no leverage, options or derivatives. Many holdings trade abroad or as ADRs (US-listed receipts for foreign shares), so currency swings affect returns. The fund may lend up to one-third of its assets to other investors. Global X can change the index without a shareholder vote.

• HERO charges 0.5% a year, versus an average of 0.59% for the similar funds below (1st of 7, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $51 in the first year and $628 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

HERO is a concentrated, volatile bet on a single global industry, so it fits best as a small add-on to broader core holdings.

HERO adds exposure to game companies in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Poland as well as the US, a slice that broad index funds hold only lightly. The ride has been rough. It fell 20% in the 2020 COVID crash but recovered in under a month. In the 2022 bear market it fell 39.2% and took about 30.6 months, until April 2025, to recover. Its deepest drop was 54%, from February 2021 to November 2022, and it had not regained that earlier peak as of October 27, 2026. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -33.5%. Anyone forced to sell during a stretch like that would lock in heavy losses. The yield was 1.68% as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year. Under the SEC's standard example, costs come to $51 in the first year per $10,000 invested. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.