Yes and no. It's similar to Ripple (XRP) in that it isthe "fuel" for running the network, but it doesn't necessarily mean Ether will be worth a bunch of money. It still isn't used to buy things, it is used as payment to machines for executing operations.
At its core, it is a development platform.
As far as a Bicoin fund, I would just buy BTC outright and place them in a hardware or paper wallet -- then again, I am comfortable with buying and selling cryptos. For people who aren't, it will be good.
I do not think it's needed though. Think about a Gold fund. You buy $100k worth of gold...where do you store it? How do you get it delivered? The Fund solves these problems. Cryptos have none of these problems because they are virtual. All you need is a $90 hardware wallet or a printer and some software and you are good to go.
