SpaceX now appears in major index funds and target-date funds through private market allocations, meaning passive investors may hold exposure to the company without realizing it. If you want to avoid SpaceX in your portfolio, you need to understand which funds carry private company stakes and what alternatives exist. Here’s a breakdown of where SpaceX hides in passive portfolios and how to build around it.
Why SpaceX Shows Up in Passive Portfolios
SpaceX exposure in passive investing refers to the indirect ownership of SpaceX shares through index funds, ETFs, or target-date funds that allocate a portion of assets to private markets. This became more common after 2023 when several fund providers expanded private equity sleeves within retirement products.
Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and several other fund families began including private company stakes in their target-date fund series between 2022 and 2024. According to Pitchbook data from Q1 2025, SpaceX carried a private valuation of approximately $350 billion, making it one of the largest private companies globally. Fund managers argue that excluding it creates tracking error against the true market.
The problem: you might own SpaceX without ever buying a single share directly. T. Rowe Price’s Retirement 2050 Fund held SpaceX at roughly 0.3% of assets as of late 2024. Fidelity’s Blue Chip Growth Fund (FBGRX) disclosed SpaceX holdings worth over $1.2 billion in 2024 filings.
Which Funds Currently Hold SpaceX
Not every index fund holds SpaceX. Pure index ETFs tracking the S&P 500 or total stock market (like VTI, VOO, or ITOT) do not hold SpaceX because it remains a private company excluded from public indices. The exposure comes through actively managed components within blended products.
Here’s where SpaceX typically appears:
| Fund Type | SpaceX Exposure Risk | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Pure index ETFs (S&P 500, Total Market) | None | VOO, VTI, ITOT, SPY |
| Target-date funds with private sleeves | Low to moderate (0.1-0.5%) | T. Rowe Price Retirement series, some Fidelity Freedom funds |
| Actively managed growth funds | Moderate (0.5-2%) | FBGRX, Baron Partners Fund |
| Venture/private equity ETFs | High (2-10%) | Destiny Tech100 (DXYZ) |
| 401(k) default allocations | Varies by plan | Check your plan’s target-date fund prospectus |
How Do I Check If My Fund Holds SpaceX?
Download your fund’s most recent N-PORT filing from the SEC’s EDGAR database. Search for “Space Exploration Technologies” or “SpaceX.” These filings update quarterly and show exact dollar amounts. You can also check your fund’s annual report or semi-annual holdings disclosure, though these lag by several months.
Three Strategies to Avoid SpaceX Exposure
Strategy 1: Stick to Pure Index Funds
The simplest approach is using funds that track published indices. The S&P 500, CRSP US Total Market Index, and Russell 3000 all exclude private companies by definition. A portfolio of VTI (total US stock market), VXUS (international), and BND (bonds) contains zero SpaceX exposure.
This works for most investors. According to S&P Dow Jones Indices 2024 SPIVA report, 92% of large-cap active managers underperformed the S&P 500 over 15 years. You’re not sacrificing returns by avoiding the active funds that hold SpaceX.
Strategy 2: Replace Target-Date Funds with a DIY Three-Fund Portfolio
If your 401(k) defaults into a target-date fund with private market exposure, switch to the plan’s index fund options. Most plans offer at least an S&P 500 index fund and a bond index fund. Build your own allocation:
- Age 25-35: 90% stock index / 10% bond index
- Age 35-45: 80% stock index / 20% bond index
- Age 45-55: 70% stock index / 30% bond index
- Age 55+: 60% stock index / 40% bond index
You lose the automatic rebalancing of a target-date fund, but you gain full transparency over holdings. Rebalance once per year in January.
Strategy 3: Screen Fund Holdings Before Buying
For taxable brokerage accounts, check holdings before purchasing any actively managed fund. Morningstar’s portfolio tab shows top holdings for most funds. If SpaceX appears in the top 25 positions, the fund has meaningful exposure.
“The average retail investor holds 4.2 funds across their accounts, per Vanguard’s 2024 How America Invests report. Checking each fund’s top 25 holdings takes under 10 minutes and eliminates surprise private company exposure.”
Why Some Investors Want to Avoid SpaceX
Concentration risk in private holdings is the danger of having too much portfolio weight in a single illiquid asset that cannot be easily sold or accurately priced on a daily basis.
Investors avoid SpaceX for several reasons beyond personal preference:
- Valuation uncertainty: Private companies report valuations based on their last funding round, not daily market pricing. SpaceX’s $350 billion valuation reflects a single transaction price, not continuous price discovery from millions of trades.
- Liquidity mismatch: Your fund promises daily redemptions, but SpaceX shares trade on secondary markets with limited volume. During the 2022 tech selloff, some funds marked down SpaceX holdings by 15-20% in a single quarter.
- Governance concerns: SpaceX operates with a dual-class share structure giving Elon Musk supermajority voting control. Passive investors have zero governance influence.
- Key-person risk: The company’s valuation is heavily tied to one individual’s leadership and public profile.
What About the Upside of Holding SpaceX?
Fair point. SpaceX’s Starlink division generated an estimated $6.6 billion in revenue in 2024, per Morgan Stanley research. The company’s launch business holds roughly 65% global market share for commercial orbital launches. If SpaceX eventually IPOs, early fund holders could see significant gains.
But the math matters. At 0.3% of a target-date fund, even a SpaceX IPO that doubles the stock price adds just 0.3% to your total portfolio. The concentration risk isn’t worth the marginal upside for most passive investors.
The Broader Problem: Private Markets Creeping Into Passive Products
SpaceX is the most visible example, but it’s not alone. Stripe, Databricks, and other late-stage private companies appear in fund holdings. The SEC proposed new rules in 2024 regarding private asset valuation in registered funds, but final rules remain pending as of early 2026.
Private market allocation in retail funds means the practice of registered investment companies (mutual funds, ETFs) holding stakes in companies that do not trade on public stock exchanges, typically limited to 15% of fund assets under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
“According to the Investment Company Institute’s 2025 Fact Book, assets in target-date funds reached $4.2 trillion by year-end 2024, up from $3.3 trillion in 2022. Even a small private allocation across these funds represents billions in illiquid holdings.”
Step-by-Step: Audit Your Portfolio for SpaceX in 15 Minutes
- List every fund you own across all accounts (401k, IRA, taxable brokerage).
- Check each fund type. Pure index ETFs tracking public indices? Skip them. Target-date or actively managed? Continue to step 3.
- Search SEC EDGAR (sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar) for the fund’s most recent N-PORT filing. Ctrl+F for “Space Exploration Technologies.”
- Check the percentage. Under 0.1%? Probably not worth worrying about. Over 0.5%? Consider switching to a pure index alternative.
- Document your decision. If you choose to keep the fund, note the exposure level and review quarterly.
“Vanguard’s 2024 research found that investors who review their portfolio holdings at least annually have 23% lower expense ratios on average, suggesting that awareness alone drives better fund selection.”
Alternatives for Investors Who Want Space Industry Exposure on Their Terms
If you want aerospace and space exposure but on your own terms, consider these public options:
- ARK Space Exploration ETF (ARKX): Holds public space companies. Expense ratio 0.70%.
- Procure Space ETF (UFO): Tracks the S-Network Space Index. Expense ratio 0.75%.
- Individual stocks: Rocket Lab (RKLB), Intuitive Machines (LUNR), or defense contractors with space divisions like Northrop Grumman (NOC).
These give you deliberate, transparent space exposure rather than accidental private market allocation through a blended fund.
Key Takeaways
Avoiding SpaceX as a passive investor is straightforward once you know where to look. Pure index funds tracking public market indices carry zero SpaceX exposure. The risk sits in target-date funds with private sleeves and actively managed growth funds. A 15-minute portfolio audit using SEC filings tells you exactly where you stand.
The bigger lesson: passive investing doesn’t mean passive oversight. Know what your funds hold, especially as the line between public and private markets continues to blur.
