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Is iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 04/03/2018, the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by Blackrock, IFRA has amassed assets over $2.12 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. IFRA seeks to match the performance of the NYSE FACTSET U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE INDEX before fees and expenses.
The NYSE FactSet U.S. Infrastructure Index comprises of equities of U.S. companies that have infrastructure exposure and that could benefit from a potential increase in domestic infrastructure activities.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for IFRA are 0.30%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.07%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 36.90% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Utilities sector; Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Sterling Infrastructure Inc (STRL - Free Report) accounts for about 0.91% of the fund's total assets, followed by Greenbrier Inc (GBX - Free Report) and Vistra Corp (VST - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 8.18% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 6.40% and is up about 3.04% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/13/2023), respectively. IFRA has traded between $32.24 and $40.45 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 19.66% for the trailing three-year period. With about 162 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Global Infrastructure ETF (IGF - Free Report) tracks S&P Global Infrastructure Index and the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE - Free Report) tracks INDXX U.S. Infrastructure Development Index. IShares Global Infrastructure ETF has $3.63 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $5.18 billion. IGF has an expense ratio of 0.41% and PAVE charges 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Is iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 04/03/2018, the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by Blackrock, IFRA has amassed assets over $2.12 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. IFRA seeks to match the performance of the NYSE FACTSET U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE INDEX before fees and expenses.
The NYSE FactSet U.S. Infrastructure Index comprises of equities of U.S. companies that have infrastructure exposure and that could benefit from a potential increase in domestic infrastructure activities.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for IFRA are 0.30%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.07%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 36.90% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Utilities sector; Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Sterling Infrastructure Inc (STRL - Free Report) accounts for about 0.91% of the fund's total assets, followed by Greenbrier Inc (GBX - Free Report) and Vistra Corp (VST - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 8.18% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 6.40% and is up about 3.04% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/13/2023), respectively. IFRA has traded between $32.24 and $40.45 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 19.66% for the trailing three-year period. With about 162 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Global Infrastructure ETF (IGF - Free Report) tracks S&P Global Infrastructure Index and the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE - Free Report) tracks INDXX U.S. Infrastructure Development Index. IShares Global Infrastructure ETF has $3.63 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $5.18 billion. IGF has an expense ratio of 0.41% and PAVE charges 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.