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Is First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 03/10/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Industrials 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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $261.64 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. AIRR is managed by First Trust Advisors. AIRR, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index.

The Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index is measures the performance of small and mid cap US companies in the industrial and community banking sectors.

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 AIRR are 0.70%, which makes it one of the more expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.05%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 89.30% of the portfolio. Financials and Energy round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Encore Wire Corporation (WIRE - Free Report) accounts for about 3.19% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mueller Water Products, Inc. (MWA - Free Report) and Hubbell Incorporated (HUBB - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 30.76% of AIRR's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 35.62% and is up about 33% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/28/2021), respectively. AIRR has traded between $33.28 and $47.78 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 31.96% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 59 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials ETF has $5.22 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $17.66 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLI charges 0.12%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials 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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