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Is iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) a Hot ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN - Free Report) debuted on 12/08/2014, and offers broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
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, CRBN has amassed assets over $533.34 M, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index is designed to address two dimensions of carbon exposure ? carbon emissions and potential carbon emissions from fossil fuel reserves.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.20% for CRBN, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.15%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.07% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.83% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The fund's year-to-date return has gained about 2.49%, and is up about 9.58% in the last one year (as of 08/01/2018). CRBN has traded between $108.70 and $125.90 in the past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 12.35% for the trailing three-year period, which makes CRBN a low choice in this particular space. With about 1254 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (SUSA - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Select Index and the iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF (DSI - Free Report) tracks MSCI KLD 400 Social Index. IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF has $751.04 M in assets, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF has $1.16 B. SUSA has an expense ratio of 0.25% and DSI charges 0.25%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World 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 MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) a Hot ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN - Free Report) debuted on 12/08/2014, and offers broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
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, CRBN has amassed assets over $533.34 M, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index is designed to address two dimensions of carbon exposure ? carbon emissions and potential carbon emissions from fossil fuel reserves.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.20% for CRBN, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.15%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.07% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.83% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The fund's year-to-date return has gained about 2.49%, and is up about 9.58% in the last one year (as of 08/01/2018). CRBN has traded between $108.70 and $125.90 in the past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 12.35% for the trailing three-year period, which makes CRBN a low choice in this particular space. With about 1254 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (SUSA - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Select Index and the iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF (DSI - Free Report) tracks MSCI KLD 400 Social Index. IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF has $751.04 M in assets, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF has $1.16 B. SUSA has an expense ratio of 0.25% and DSI charges 0.25%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World 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.