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Is iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN - Free Report) was launched on 12/08/2014, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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 sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $1.18 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index before fees and expenses.
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 CRBN are 0.20%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
CRBN's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.01%.
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 (NVDA) accounts for about 5.14% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).
CRBN's top 10 holdings account for about 25.61% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 11% so far this year and was up about 13.98% in the last one year (as of 10/20/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $216.28 and $261.31
The fund has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 14.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes CRBN a low risk choice in this particular space. With about 1086 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 $13.43 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.98 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?
The iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN - Free Report) was launched on 12/08/2014, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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 sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $1.18 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index before fees and expenses.
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 CRBN are 0.20%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
CRBN's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.01%.
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 (NVDA) accounts for about 5.14% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).
CRBN's top 10 holdings account for about 25.61% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 11% so far this year and was up about 13.98% in the last one year (as of 10/20/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $216.28 and $261.31
The fund has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 14.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes CRBN a low risk choice in this particular space. With about 1086 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 $13.43 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $17.98 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.