Is iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) 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?
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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock. CRBN has been able to amass assets over $693.74 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund, 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 CRBN are 0.20%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.38%.
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.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 3.66% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 14.47% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF has added roughly 2.85% so far, and it's up approximately 29.06% over the last 12 months (as of 03/08/2021). CRBN has traded between $89.44 and $158.11 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 21.05% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 1413 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target 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.
IShares ESG Aware MSCI EM ETF (ESGE) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets ESG Focus Index and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. IShares ESG Aware MSCI EM ETF has $7.01 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $14.32 billion. ESGE has an expense ratio of 0.25% and ESGU charges 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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