Robots, some claim, may be taking over your job. But it is also possible to make a juicy financial return from them, as the creators of a new fund hope.

Robots are everywhere, it seems, and the term “robo-advisor” shows wealth management is no exception. But if you cannot beat them, invest in them, is one approach. UK regulatory incubator Sturgeon Ventures has teamed up with the appropriately named investment advisor RoboCap to launch a fund investing entirely in the field of robotics and automation.

The RoboCap UCITS Fund targets double-digit annual returns by investing in listed companies mainly in the US, Japan and Western Europe. 

“The focus will be on pure play investments but companies benefiting from the theme will also be considered,” the firms said in a statement about the launch.

The launch of the fund is part of a trend of investment firms tapping into the automation trend. Late 2013, for example, saw the launch of the The ROBO-STOX™ Global Robotics and Automation Index; an exchange traded fund, ROBO, that trades on the US Nasdaq bourse, has been rolled out to track that index. ETF Securities has a similar ETF. Pictet, the Swiss private bank, has also set up a robotics-focused fund, Pictet-Robotics, a Luxembourg-registered vehicle.

The RoboCap fund will focus on just 22-30 long positions with an average holding period of approximately 12 months. It is being launched as a UCITS sub-fund of the ML Capital platform overseen by Sturgeon Ventures. Sturgeon is the portfolio manager, with Jonathan Cohen as the designated portfolio manager. The fund is being offered to high net worth investors, family offices and institutions in the UK, Europe and abroad.

Investors can get exposure to the “industrial revolution being driven by the advent of robotics and automation technology; from 3D printers in manufacturing to high precision surgical robots, fast-developing companies are emerging in this new sector with strong sales and earnings growth,” the firms said.

As evidence of the potential, Sturgeon says robotics and automation stocks have performed three to six times better than general equity indices, with an internal rate of return over 17 per cent, over the last 10 years. The market for robotics and automation is predicted to reach over $10 trillion by 2025.

Robocap has an investment universe of around 150 stocks. This only includes companies in the robotics, 3D printing, drones and autonomous vehicle value chains which it deems will be key beneficiaries of the move towards automation. RoboCap was founded in August 2015 by Cohen. Prior to this, he was the senior portfolio manager of the US team of London & Capital Asset management, where he led a team of three portfolio managers. He will work with senior investment analyst Heenal Patel, who joined the firm in August 2015.