Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should You Invest in the iShares Global Industrials ETF (EXI)?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials - Broad segment of the U.S. equity market, the iShares Global Industrials ETF (EXI - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/12/2006.

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Industrials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 3, placing it in top 19%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $247.97 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Broad segment of the U.S. equity market. EXI seeks to match the performance of the S&P Global 1200 Industrials Sector Index before fees and expenses.

The S&P Global 1200 Industrials Sector Index measures the performance of companies that are part of the industrials sector of the economy.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.48%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.87%.

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.

Looking at individual holdings, Boeing (BA - Free Report) accounts for about 4.42% of total assets, followed by General Electric (GE - Free Report) and 3m (MMM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 24.92% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -3.44% so far this year and it's up approximately 6.74% in the last one year (as of 06/22/2018). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $84.11 and $99.02.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 13.84% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 218 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

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.