Should You Invest in the First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR)?
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market, look no further than the First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 03/10/2014.
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 12, placing it in bottom 25%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $201.43 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market. AIRR seeks to match the performance of the Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index before fees and expenses.
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.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.70%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.05%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. 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 89.50% of the portfolio, followed by Financials.
Looking at individual holdings, Arcosa, Inc. (ACA) accounts for about 3.67% of total assets, followed by Clean Harbors, Inc. (CLH) and The Shyft Group, Inc. (SHYF).
The top 10 holdings account for about 32.81% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -3.08% and is down about -3.23% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/04/2022), respectively. AIRR has traded between $36.26 and $47.78 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.25 and standard deviation of 33.40% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 56 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, AIRR is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials ETF has $3.46 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $12.66 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLI charges 0.10%.
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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First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR): ETF Research Reports
Clean Harbors, Inc. (CLH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS): ETF Research Reports
Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI): ETF Research Reports
Arcosa, Inc. (ACA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Shyft Group, Inc. (SHYF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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