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Is iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) a Hot ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 12/08/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
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.
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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $531.86 M, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. CRBN is managed by Blackrock. Before fees and expenses, CRBN seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index.
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
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.20%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.15%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.26% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 11.01% of CRBN's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 2.21% so far this year and is up about 10.28% in the last one year (as of 08/24/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $109.67 and $125.90.
The fund has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 12.22% for the trailing three-year period, which makes CRBN a low choice in this particular space. With about 1224 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 $763.62 M in assets, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF has $1.20 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?
Making its debut on 12/08/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
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.
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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $531.86 M, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. CRBN is managed by Blackrock. Before fees and expenses, CRBN seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index.
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
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.20%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.15%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.26% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 11.01% of CRBN's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 2.21% so far this year and is up about 10.28% in the last one year (as of 08/24/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $109.67 and $125.90.
The fund has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 12.22% for the trailing three-year period, which makes CRBN a low choice in this particular space. With about 1224 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 $763.62 M in assets, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF has $1.20 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.