We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
The First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR - Free Report) was launched on 03/10/2014, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Industrials 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.
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.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
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
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $8.35 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. Before fees and expenses, AIRR 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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.69% for AIRR, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.16%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 92.3% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Saia, Inc. (SAIA) accounts for about 3.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by C.h. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) and Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 34.13% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 13.29% so far this year and is up roughly 59.3% in the last one year (as of 03/18/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $61.92 and $121.93
The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 24.64% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 53 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ETF Shares (VIS) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ETF Shares has $7.11 billion in assets, State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $28.83 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLI changes 0.08%.
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.
Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)
Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Is First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR - Free Report) was launched on 03/10/2014, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Industrials 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.
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.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
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
The fund is managed by First Trust Advisors, and has been able to amass over $8.35 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. Before fees and expenses, AIRR 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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.69% for AIRR, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.16%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 92.3% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Saia, Inc. (SAIA) accounts for about 3.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by C.h. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) and Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 34.13% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 13.29% so far this year and is up roughly 59.3% in the last one year (as of 03/18/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $61.92 and $121.93
The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 24.64% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 53 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ETF Shares (VIS) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ETF Shares has $7.11 billion in assets, State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $28.83 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLI changes 0.08%.
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.