here are 2022’s three investment themes to bet on

here are 2022’s three investment themes to bet on

in the future, there will come a time when you won’t have to leave your rooms for anything. you have a concert to attend with friends? have to visit your parents? have to be present for an office meeting? just teleport your hologram. this is how Mark Zuckerberg visualizes the ‘Metaverse’. in an October 2021 founder’s letter, he had said that this internet of the future would be something that can not just be seen online but experienced.

Zuckerberg’s Meta (formerly Facebook) is just one among the many corporations focussing on the metaverse as a key strategy in 2022. and considering the scope of this immersive internet, the metaverse is becoming one of the key investment themes of 2022. 

but in case you are wondering, it is not the only investment-worthy theme for 2022. including the metaverse, analysts have identified three major areas of finance that will help in wealth creation. they are Metaverse, Clean Energy, and Real Estate. let’s take a closer look at each one:

metaverse:

the market for metaverse transactions is expected to touch $6.1 billion in 2021, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. here, Meta is planning to spend $10 billion on its metaverse division. 

among other companies, hardware company Nvidia announced its Omniverse through which designers, artists, and reviewers can work together virtually in real-time. as a step forward, the graphic technology firm is working on Earth’s digital twin — Earth2 — an AI supercomputer built on their ‘Omniverse’ that will predict climate change. 

the gaming industry has already seen some adoption, too. digital social games like Fortnite and user-created virtual worlds like Minecraft and Roblox are early examples of how this new experiential internet universe is shaping up. also, the metaverse-led gaming platform The Sandbox is set to expand its offerings. the Sandbox’s alpha stage went live in November and offered players a chance to win SAND tokens and NFT rewards through gaming. 

for investors, companies investing aggressively in this space could be a good bet. here, the Roundhill Metaverse ETF launched in June 2021 was an attempt to invest in companies connected to the metaverse. some of them include Meta, Nvidia, Roblox, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Qualcomm, and Unity Software. among these, Microsoft is launching its metaverse version via its Teams app next year. 

a report by Goldman Sachs said that metaverse could have ~$135 billion of investments at the low end and ~$1.35 trillion at the high end in the near future. 

clean energy

going green with net-zero emissions within the next 10 years is the target of both governments and companies globally. as part of this mission, corporations have begun pumping money into clean energy projects.

at COP 21, India had committed to achieving 40% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030. the government recently announced that the country achieved this target in November 2021 itself. India’s installed non-fossil-based energy capacity now is 156.83 GW, which is 40.1% of the total electricity capacity of 390.8 GW. 

among corporates, Reliance Industries will spend $10 billion over three years on renewable energy projects. similarly, the Adani Group is investing  $70 billion over the next decade to become the world’s largest renewable energy company. on the other hand, JSW Energy has carved out green businesses into a new entity and will be setting aside Rs 35,500 crore for such projects. 

with India gradually moving towards the 2070 net-zero target, the investments to make the switch to green are only set to grow.

real-estate

contrary to popular perception, real-estate investments are back in vogue as prices are set to go up next year. the US Federal Reserve will begin its interest-rate hike cycle in 2022, a factor that will increase mortgage rates. 

in India too, the RBI could be pushed to begin hiking repo rates to counter inflation. this will make home loans expensive for consumers. professional services firm Colliers is expecting the office segment to be dominant, besides investments in residential, industrial, and warehousing segments. 

the BSE Realty Index has gained 44% as of December 20. this is primarily due to the demand surge for new properties, especially among players like DLF, Godrej Properties, and Sobha Developers. simultaneously, unsold inventories have also reduced as Covid-led pay cuts have been reversed in corporate India. 

in 2022, the residential property market could see an improvement in newer projects. real estate investors would need to keep a watch on new avenues for real-estate investment trusts. the thrust on hybrid offices would also further boost investments into coworking spaces in India.