A robotics-focused investment fund is entering its fifth year of operations and reporting returns of nearly 40%.
Dallas-based Robo Global Robotics & Automation (NSDQ:ROBO) exchange-traded fund , which claims to be the first robotics investment fund, yesterday reported generating 37.7% for its investors and attracting more than $1.5 billion in assets since launching in late 2013, according to a fund news release.
The ETF, which operates offices in Dallas and London, invests in the robotics, automation and artificial intelligence sector. It’s now comprised of 85 securities from 14 countries. Exchange-traded funds differ from mutual funds in that prices fluctuate like common stock during each day of trading versus at the day’s end.
In August, The Robot Report reported that Robo Global Robotics surpassed $1 billion in assets and that its index provided nearly no overlap with traditional equity indices. At the time, CEO Travis Briggs said the index provides investors with access to large, mid- and small-cap companies “at the forefront of the robotics revolution.”
Briggs was previously the managing director of the Dallas-based Smith Group Asset Management where he created and led the firm’s private client group, according to his online profile.
At Robo Global, North America is the largest geographical weighting in the index with 41% of investments, followed by Japan with 29%. All other regions have less than a 7% weight in the index.
In terms of company size, the index includes 51% mid-cap companies, 26% small-cap companies and 23% large-cap. As of late July, the fund had returned an average 10.4% annually since inception, according to ETF Strategy, an online financial news portal.
(The Robot Report founder and executive editor Frank Tobe is a member of Robo Global Robotics’ advisory board.)
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