In this article, Robotics and Automation News takes a look at the exchange-traded funds that are earning profits from investing in robotics, automation and artificial intelligence stocks.
This is not a financial advice article and we are not suggesting or recommending any investment funds, policies or ideas.
We are simply commenting on investment funds that we have noticed are doing well on the stock markets.
It seems that all the main exchange-traded funds are doing better than the stock markets as a whole and better than indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial.
It might be interesting to decide some criteria on which we can order the ETFs in some sort of list, but this article does not do that – it lists them in no particular order and provides an update on a few of them.
Here are some of the more well-known investment vehicles if you are interested in companies in markets such as robotics, automation, and related computing technologies:
- Global X (Ticker: BOTZ)
- Robo Global (Ticker: ROBO)
- Horizons ETFs (Ticker: ROBO)
- Evolve ETFs (Ticker: EDGE)
- Direxion (Ticker: UBOT)
It’s all about technology
What might be called the “robotics” sector is not really easily defined on the stock market because, very often, companies that produce and supply robots are very often conglomerates which are into a huge range of industries.
Also, companies that previously only produced and sold hardware are repositioning themselves as “digital” businesses and offering services such as predictive maintenance, which depend on data gathered by sensors and transmitted through computer networks.
It’s at that point – when the data is gathered – that artificial intelligence systems can be used to assist humans to analyse the enormous amount of information and make decisions.
A lot of these technologies are new, and continually converging and diversifying. This makes analysing stocks and investing in the right companies more challenging or fun – depending on your point of view.
Obviously, losing money is not fun, but fortunately, most of the funds which invest in this sector are doing quite well.
Of the investment vehicles listed above, Robo Global is probably the most well-known, being one of the first, if not the very first. And it has more than $2 billion worth of assets under management (see pie chart above).
Fund managers of the Robo Global Robotics & Automation ETF recently changed the primary listing venue from Nasdaq to NYSE Arca, which is possibly a sign of growth.
Nasdaq is the well known tech-heavy stock market and NYSE Arca specialises in exchange-traded products.
Indxx Global Robotics Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index
Who won?
As mentioned earlier, we do not offer investment advice because we do not have the necessary certifications.
But obviously, we can make observations about what these investment vehicles are doing, and report on the latest news regarding them.
Evolve Funds Group, a Canada-based operation, says it has filed a prospectus to launch the Evolve Innovation Index ETF, which its managers say measures the performance of equity securities in categories such as: robotics and automation; future cars; cybersecurity; big data; cloud computing; genomics; and social media.
A US-based company has launched what it calls the Direxion Daily Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Automation Index Bull 3X Shares.
Direxion says it wants to achieve “300 per cent of the Indxx Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index” (see line graph above), which appears to produce a graph showing the performance of stocks in the sector.
Global X, which is behind the BOTZ ETF, has launched a new investment fund – the Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (Ticker: DRIV).
Global X says the new ETF is designed to track the Solactive Autonomous & Electric Vehicles Index, and fund holds a basket of companies involved in the production or development of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles.
Another Canadian company is involved in this market and seems to have some sort of partnership with its namesake south of the border.
The Horizons Robotics and Automation Index ETF uses the ticker “ROBO” for its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
How that affects the Robo Global ETF, which also uses the ticker “ROBO”, is unclear to us at this stage. Perhaps it’s because they are listed in different stock markets.
