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Is iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA - Free Report) was launched on 04/03/2018, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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 $3.21 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. IFRA, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the NYSE FACTSET U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE INDEX .
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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.30%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, 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 43.5% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Argan Inc (AGX) accounts for about 0.99% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mdu Resources Group Inc (MDU) and Nextera Energy Inc (NEE).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 6.44% of IFRA's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 16.45% and is up roughly 9.45% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/11/2025), respectively. IFRA has traded between $40.97 and $54.04 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.52% for the trailing three-year period. With about 157 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 $8.79 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $9.96 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?
The iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA - Free Report) was launched on 04/03/2018, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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 $3.21 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. IFRA, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the NYSE FACTSET U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE INDEX .
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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.30%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, 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 43.5% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Argan Inc (AGX) accounts for about 0.99% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mdu Resources Group Inc (MDU) and Nextera Energy Inc (NEE).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 6.44% of IFRA's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 16.45% and is up roughly 9.45% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/11/2025), respectively. IFRA has traded between $40.97 and $54.04 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.52% for the trailing three-year period. With about 157 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 $8.79 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $9.96 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.