Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology - Cloud Computing segment of the equity market, the Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on April 12, 2019.
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.
Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Technology - Cloud Computing is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Global X Management. It has amassed assets over $333.37 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Cloud Computing segment of the equity market. CLOU seeks to match the performance of the INDXX GLOBAL CLOUD COMPUTING INDEX before fees and expenses.
The Indxx Global Cloud Computing Index provides exposure to exchange-listed companies in developed and emerging markets that are positioned to benefit from the increased adoption of cloud computing technology.
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 0.68%, making it one of the more expensive products in the space.
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.Looking at individual holdings, Zscaler Inc (ZS) accounts for about 5.15% of total assets, followed by Snowflake Inc-class A (SNOW) and Twilio Inc - A (TWLO).
The top 10 holdings account for about 43.44% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, CLOU has lost about 2.13%, and is up about 17.6% in the last one year (as of 07/30/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $18.22 and $26.34.
The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 27.91% for the trailing three-year period. With about 39 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
Global X Cloud Computing ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, CLOU is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF (WCLD) tracks BVP NASDAQ EMERGING CLOUD INDEX and the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY) tracks ISE Cloud Computing Index. WisdomTree Cloud Computing ETF has $367.34 million in assets, First Trust Cloud Computing ETF has $3.59 billion. WCLD has an expense ratio of 0.45%, and SKYY charges 0.6%.
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 Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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