Yahoo Finance Is iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 12/08/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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
Managed by Blackrock, CRBN has amassed assets over $927.32 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund 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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for CRBN are 0.20%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.86%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 4.14% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.37% of CRBN's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 8.18% and is up about 28.32% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/21/2024), respectively. CRBN has traded between $142.50 and $179.01 during this last 52-week period.
CRBN has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 16.57% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 1201 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.
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF has $11.35 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $12.70 billion. JEPQ has an expense ratio of 0.35% 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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iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN): ETF Research Reports
Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU): ETF Research Reports
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ): ETF Research Reports
