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Is iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA - Free Report) debuted on 04/03/2018, and offers broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure 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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
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
The fund is managed by Blackrock. IFRA has been able to amass assets over $3.11 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. This particular fund 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
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.30%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
IFRA's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.69%.
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.
For IFRA, it has heaviest allocation in the Utilities sector --about 42.1% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc (HE) accounts for about 0.84% of the fund's total assets, followed by Primoris Services Corp (PRIM) and Tutor Perini Corp (TPC).
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.71% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 15.89% so far this year and was up about 15.34% in the last one year (as of 10/06/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $40.97 and $52.98
IFRA has a beta of 1.00 and standard deviation of 17.45% for the trailing three-year period. With about 158 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (IGF) tracks S&P Global Infrastructure Index and the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) tracks INDXX U.S. Infrastructure Development Index. iShares Global Infrastructure ETF has $8.43 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $9.67 billion. IGF has an expense ratio of 0.39% and PAVE changes 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?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA - Free Report) debuted on 04/03/2018, and offers broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure 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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
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
The fund is managed by Blackrock. IFRA has been able to amass assets over $3.11 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. This particular fund 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
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.30%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
IFRA's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.69%.
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.
For IFRA, it has heaviest allocation in the Utilities sector --about 42.1% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc (HE) accounts for about 0.84% of the fund's total assets, followed by Primoris Services Corp (PRIM) and Tutor Perini Corp (TPC).
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.71% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 15.89% so far this year and was up about 15.34% in the last one year (as of 10/06/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $40.97 and $52.98
IFRA has a beta of 1.00 and standard deviation of 17.45% for the trailing three-year period. With about 158 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (IGF) tracks S&P Global Infrastructure Index and the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) tracks INDXX U.S. Infrastructure Development Index. iShares Global Infrastructure ETF has $8.43 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $9.67 billion. IGF has an expense ratio of 0.39% and PAVE changes 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.