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Is iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market, the iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/08/2014.
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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $1.15 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. CRBN, before fees and expenses, 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
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 this ETF are 0.20%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.67%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 4.73% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 23.62% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 11.25% so far this year and it's up approximately 27.02% in the last one year (as of 06/16/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $202.97 and $257.83
CRBN has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 14.31% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 1005 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI 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.
Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF Shares (ESGV) tracks FTSE US ALL CAP CHOICE INDEX and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF Shares has $13.31 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.54 billion. ESGV has an expense ratio of 0.09% and ESGU changes 0.15%.
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 Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market, the iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/08/2014.
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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $1.15 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. CRBN, before fees and expenses, 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
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 this ETF are 0.20%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.67%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 4.73% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 23.62% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 11.25% so far this year and it's up approximately 27.02% in the last one year (as of 06/16/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $202.97 and $257.83
CRBN has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 14.31% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 1005 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI 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.
Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF Shares (ESGV) tracks FTSE US ALL CAP CHOICE INDEX and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF Shares has $13.31 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.54 billion. ESGV has an expense ratio of 0.09% and ESGU changes 0.15%.
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.