SpaceX Is Still Private. Here Is What You Can Buy Instead.

The Ridiculous Premium on Private Space Access

• The Access Toll. Figuring out how to invest in SpaceX directly is impossible, so retail buyers are paying a massive closed-end fund premium to NAV just to grab a piece of Destiny Tech100 DXYZ. It's a desperate bid for private company IPO exposure in 2026, but buying at these inflated prices carries severe downside risk.

• The Quiet Pivot. While crowds chase elusive private shares, institutional capital is positioning for the broader pipeline. Backing Goldman Sachs IPO stocks offers a smart backdoor into the upcoming public listings wave, letting you capitalise on underwriting fees rather than waiting on a single billionaire.

• The Grounded Alternative. You don't need to overpay for SpaceX listed proxies to enter the orbit. Rocket Lab provides direct, operational exposure to the commercial space economy right now. Using a regulated broker with fractional shares means you can build a diversified space portfolio with small amounts.

• The Valuation Trap. Market sentiment is fickle. If a headline listing gets delayed, that premium could collapse overnight, destroying capital even if the underlying company thrives. Lean on AI-driven research and real-time insights to track these shifting valuations and avoid getting caught off guard.

SpaceX remains out of reach, but these alternative market plays might warrant a cautious look

I find it endlessly amusing how human nature operates in the financial markets. Tell an investor they can buy shares in almost any massive, profitable corporation in the world, and they will stifle a yawn. Tell them they absolutely cannot buy one specific company, and they will move heaven and earth to get their hands on it. Right now, that forbidden fruit is SpaceX.

Elon Musk has kept his rocket business firmly behind closed doors. There is no ticker to look up. There is no public exchange where you can hit a buy button. The door is firmly shut to the retail public. Yet, people are so desperate to own a piece of the cosmos that they are paying genuinely eye watering fees through the back door. To me, this looks like a classic case of chasing a trend without reading the price tag.

Let us pull back the curtain on this spectacle. We are going to look at the exorbitant tolls investors are paying for backdoor access, the structural risks involved, and why I think there are far cleverer ways to approach the sector.

The persistent premium of DXYZ and the price of impatience

Enter Destiny Tech100 Inc, trading under the ticker DXYZ. It is a closed end fund. It holds stakes in private technology companies, and SpaceX is the undeniable star of the show. If you look at the fund, you will notice it trades at a massive premium to its net asset value. That means the share price on the open market is vastly higher than the actual paper worth of the assets inside it.

This is not a clerical error.

It is a desperation tax.

Retail investors are effectively paying a massive liquidity fee for access they cannot get anywhere else. DXYZ converts illiquid private equity stakes into something you can trade on a wet Tuesday afternoon in London. That wrapper has real value to those locked out of venture capital rounds. However, the current premium is pricing in a flawless future that may never actually arrive. You have to ask yourself if you are investing in space exploration, or simply subsidising someone else's exit liquidity.

Understanding closed end mechanics before the trap snaps shut

I always tell people to look under the bonnet before buying a vehicle. A closed end fund issues a fixed number of shares. Unlike your standard mutual fund, you cannot just redeem your shares at the underlying asset value. You have to sell them to another buyer on the open market, which means the price is entirely at the mercy of human sentiment.

When everyone wants in and supply is fixed, the price detaches from reality. A premium appears. But you must consider what happens when the mood changes.

Imagine a crowded pub where everyone has paid triple the entry fee to see a famous band. If the band delays their set, people get annoyed. If a rumour spreads that the band might not play at all, the crowd rushes the exit. That entry ticket suddenly becomes completely worthless.

Premium compression is a brutal reality.

If SpaceX pushes back its timeline, or if the broader private market takes a valuation haircut, that DXYZ premium could vanish overnight. An investor who buys at a large premium could lose a substantial amount of money even if the underlying assets hold their value, simply because the market stops willing to pay the entrance fee.

Why buying into private companies means flying blind

Public companies have rules. They publish quarterly reports, host earnings calls, and face relentless scrutiny from analysts. Private companies do none of this. They operate behind closed doors, releasing only the information that suits their narrative.

When you buy into a fund holding unlisted names, you are operating with a severe lack of information. The fund calculates its net asset value based on periodic appraisals of these private stakes. These appraisals often lag behind real market conditions by months.

In 2021, the private funding market was an absolute gold rush. Then, a few key tech valuations collapsed, and the hangover was brutal. Every private fund investor thought they were rich on paper until the delayed appraisals finally arrived. You are taking a binary, highly concentrated bet based on stale data. The information asymmetry here is a structural danger, not just a theoretical concept for academics to debate.

Smarter ways to play the space race and the upcoming market revival

If paying a massive premium for a black box does not appeal to you, I have good news. There are listed proxies that offer adjacent exposure without the sheer absurdity of the DXYZ premium.

Let us start with the bankers.

Goldman Sachs is a name that commands attention on any trading floor. Rather than guessing which private company will succeed, you could simply back the institution that profits from bringing them all to the public market. We are staring down an anticipated wave of listings in the coming years. If you want a pragmatic strategy for Capitalizing on the IPO Boom, looking at the primary underwriters makes an awful lot of sense.

Investment bankers do not build rockets. They do not care about the mechanics of escaping Earth's gravity. They care about fees. When a private company finally decides to list on an exchange, the banks orchestrate the parade and take a massive cut for their trouble. A busy calendar in 2026 could translate into colossal advisory revenues. Crucially, this strategy offers durability. Even if the rocket sector stalls, Goldman benefits from the broader revival of capital markets. You are not betting on a single rocket launch, but rather on the eternal truth that bankers always get paid.

Then, we have the purists.

Rocket Lab offers the most direct exposure to the actual mechanics of space. They are a publicly traded entity with the ticker RKLB. They build rockets, they win commercial contracts, and they generate real revenue. Unlike funds that merely hold shares in the hopes of a buyout, Rocket Lab is fundamentally tied to the industrial commercialisation of space.

A few years ago, the launch market was dominated by massive, expensive government projects. Then, commercial companies started throwing small satellites into orbit like confetti. Rocket Lab positioned itself perfectly for this shift. Their trajectory is entirely independent of Elon Musk. They compete in the small launch market and are expanding into satellite infrastructure. To me, this is the most operationally grounded play available.

It carries immense risks, of course. Their success depends on successful launches and contract wins, which means an explosive failure on the launchpad could severely dent the share price. Space is notoriously unforgiving. However, you are paying for a functioning, operating business, not an artificial premium based on hype.

Waiting for catalysts in a market built on speculation

Everyone in the City is looking toward a potential wave of public listings in 2026. Speculation is absolutely rife. But I must remind you that certainty in financial markets is a myth, especially when dealing with billionaires who operate on their own unpredictable schedules.

Any credible whisper that a major space entity is moving towards an exchange could cause these alternative assets to reprice violently. The premium on private funds might expand on the hype, or collapse entirely if the timeline shifts. You must treat any dates you read about as pure speculation. History is littered with hot private companies that delayed their market debuts for years, leaving early investors trapped in dead money.

For Goldman Sachs, the catalyst is simply market volume. A general uptick in corporate activity will feed their bottom line, making their quarterly earnings a vital metric to watch. For Rocket Lab, the catalysts are quarterly backlog updates and successful orbital missions. These are tangible, trackable metrics that you can actually verify.

Final thoughts on managing risk and sizing your allocations

I am not telling you to completely ignore the allure of private market funds. I am telling you to be fiercely realistic about the price you pay to enter them.

If you have a high conviction view and genuinely believe the premium is worth the risk, perhaps a tiny, speculative allocation makes sense. But treating a high premium, concentrated vehicle as a core portfolio holding is a brilliant recipe for heartbreak. Your capital is always at risk, and chasing exclusivity often ends in tears.

To me, spreading the risk is the only sensible approach. You might look at a tiny slice of direct exposure, anchor it with a stalwart like Goldman Sachs for the underwriting fees, and add Rocket Lab for pure industrial exposure. They all carry the absolute risk of capital loss, but they react to entirely different forces.

Keep a close eye on regulatory filings, watch the advisory revenues from the big banks, and monitor commercial launch schedules. Above all, remember that impatience is the most expensive emotion in investing. Do not let the desperation to own something private blind you to the very real opportunities, and risks, sitting right in front of you on the public markets.

Deep Dive

Market & Opportunity

• Retail investors seek access to the private space industry through listed proxies, because SpaceX cannot be purchased directly on any public exchange
• The anticipated 2026 initial public offering wave offers a chance to capitalise on capital market activity and private technology valuations
• Nemo is an ADGM FSRA regulated broker, working with DriveWealth and Exinity, that allows users to invest in these themes with small amounts
• Fractional shares starting at one dollar make it beginner friendly to build a diversified portfolio without paying commissions

Key Companies

• DESTINY TECH 100 INC (DXYZ): Core technology is a closed end fund holding private technology stakes, use cases include converting illiquid private equity into tradable shares, and financials show it trades at a significant premium to net asset value, with more details on the Nemo landing page
• GS (GS): Core technology is a diversified global banking franchise, use cases involve initial public offering underwriting and advisory services, and financials rely on capital markets fee income, with more details on the Nemo landing page
• ROCKET LAB CORPORATION (RKLB): Core technology includes small launch vehicles and space systems, use cases focus on the commercial space economy, and financials depend on launch cadence and revenue from commercial contracts, with more details on the Nemo landing page

Primary Risk Factors

• Buying a closed end fund at a premium to net asset value carries downside risk, especially if sentiment shifts or if an initial public offering fails to materialise
• Private companies are not required to disclose financial results publicly, creating structural information asymmetry for investors
• Nemo operates transparently by generating revenue through spreads rather than commissions, but all investments carry risk and you may lose money

Growth Catalysts

• Formal regulatory filings or changes in public commentary regarding a SpaceX listing could trigger a significant valuation shift for related funds
• A revival in overall capital markets issuance might heavily influence quarterly advisory and underwriting revenue for major banks
• Expanding beyond launch services into space infrastructure might help commercial space companies diversify their revenues
• Investors can use Nemo and its AI driven research to monitor earnings catalysts and real time insights across the market