We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
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.
Making its debut on 12/08/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund ISHARS-M L CRBN (CRBN - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the U.S. equity market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock. CRBN has been able to amass assets over $529.57 M, making it one of the largest 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
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 0.20% for CRBN, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.19%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.07% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.66% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
CRBN has added about 0.67% so far this year, and as of 07/09/2018, was up about 11.20% in the last one year. In the past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $107.64 and $125.90.
CRBN has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 12.43% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low choice in the space. With about 1232 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
ISHARS-M L CRBN 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.
IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (SUSA - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Select Index and the iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF (DSI - Free Report) tracks MSCI KLD 400 Social Index. IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF has $725.55 M in assets, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF has $1.12 B. SUSA has an expense ratio of 0.25% and DSI charges 0.25%.
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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is ISHARS-M L CRBN (CRBN) a Hot ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 12/08/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund ISHARS-M L CRBN (CRBN - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the U.S. equity market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock. CRBN has been able to amass assets over $529.57 M, making it one of the largest 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
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 0.20% for CRBN, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.19%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.07% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.66% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
CRBN has added about 0.67% so far this year, and as of 07/09/2018, was up about 11.20% in the last one year. In the past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $107.64 and $125.90.
CRBN has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 12.43% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low choice in the space. With about 1232 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
ISHARS-M L CRBN 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.
IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (SUSA - Free Report) tracks MSCI USA ESG Select Index and the iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF (DSI - Free Report) tracks MSCI KLD 400 Social Index. IShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF has $725.55 M in assets, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF has $1.12 B. SUSA has an expense ratio of 0.25% and DSI charges 0.25%.
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.