Is 3D Printing really ready for the the first mutual fund devoted entirely to investing in 3D printing? Well, it opened for business this week. But it may be way too risky for most investors.
The 3D Printing and Technology Fund owns roughly 40 companies, according to Alan Meckler, the fund’s portfolio manager.
Among them are the pure play 3D printer companies such as Stratasys (SSYS), 3D Systems (DDD), and voxeljet (VJET). But the fund also owns General Electric (GE, Fortune 500), which uses 3D printing technology for its jet engines, Meckler said.
Still, Meckler has never run a mutual fund before, so there’s no track record to study.
He does have significant experience running technology companies and taking them public — but that’s not the same thing as being able to pick stocks.
Meckler is currently the CEO of Mediabistro (MBIS), a company well-known among journalists for its job listings sites. But the company has increasingly moved into other businesses, including putting on tech industry trade shows. And Mediabistro does have a unit that hosts conferences catering to the 3D printing sector.
While running trade shows for companies that Meckler may also own in his mutual fund may smell like a conflict of interest, Meckler says the fund and Mediabistro trade show business will be run separately.
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