Launched on 04/03/2018, the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $3.75 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. IFRA is managed by Blackrock. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the NYSE FACTSET U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE INDEX .
The NYSE FactSet U.S. Infrastructure Index comprises of equities of U.S. companies that have infrastructure exposure and that could benefit from a potential increase in domestic infrastructure activities.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.30%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.61%.
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.
Representing 40% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Utilities sector; Industrials and Materials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc (HE) accounts for about 0.9% of total assets, followed by Algonquin Power Utilities Corp (AQN) and Century Aluminum (CENX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 5.67% of IFRA's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, IFRA has added about 14.14%, and is up about 27.38% in the last one year (as of 02/12/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $40.97 and $60.06.
The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.29% for the trailing three-year period. With about 157 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (IGF) tracks S&P Global Infrastructure Index and the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) tracks INDXX U.S. Infrastructure Development Index. iShares Global Infrastructure ETF has $9.92 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $12.08 billion. IGF has an expense ratio of 0.39% and PAVE changes 0.47%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Utilities/Infrastructure 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 U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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