Designed to provide broad exposure to the Utilities - Infrastructure segment of the equity market, the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 03/06/2017.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Utilities - Infrastructure is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 15, placing it in bottom 6%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Global X Management. It has amassed assets over $4.42 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Utilities - Infrastructure segment of the equity market. PAVE seeks to match the performance of the INDXX U.S. Infrastructure Development Index before fees and expenses.
The INDXX U.S. Infrastructure Development Index measure the performance of U.S. listed companies that provide exposure to domestic infrastructure development, including companies involved in construction and engineering; production of infrastructure raw materials, composites and products; industrial transportation; and producers/distributors of heavy construction equipment.
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 0.47%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.35%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector--about 70.40% of the portfolio. Materials and Utilities round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nucor Corp (NUE) accounts for about 3.30% of total assets, followed by Trane Technologies Plc (NYSE:TT) and Eaton Corp Plc (NYSE:ETN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 30.29% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 31.42% and is up about 59.35% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/17/2021), respectively. PAVE has traded between $16.29 and $27.63 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.31 and standard deviation of 31.15% for the trailing three-year period. With about 100 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development 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, PAVE is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
IShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) tracks NYSE FACTSET U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE INDEX and the iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (IGF) tracks S&P Global Infrastructure Index. IShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF has $687.38 million in assets, iShares Global Infrastructure ETF has $3.10 billion. IFRA has an expense ratio of 0.40% and IGF charges 0.43%.
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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Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE): ETF Research Reports
Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Eaton Corporation, PLC (ETN): Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (IGF): ETF Research Reports
Trane Technologies plc (TT): Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA): ETF Research Reports
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