Should You Invest in the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure ETF (GRID)?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Utilities - Infrastructure segment of the equity market, the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure ETF (GRID) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on November 16, 2009.
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.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Utilities - Infrastructure is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 7, placing it in top 44%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $3.75 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Utilities - Infrastructure segment of the equity market. GRID seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index before fees and expenses.
The Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index tracks the performance of common stocks in the grid and electric energy infrastructure sector.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.56%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1%.
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, Abb Ltd (ABBN.SW) accounts for about 8.83% of total assets, followed by Eaton Corporation Plc (ETN) and Johnson Controls International Plc (JCI).
The top 10 holdings account for about 55.9% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 26.32% and is up roughly 18.79% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/25/2025), respectively. GRID has traded between $101.69 and $151.2 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.23 and standard deviation of 19.67% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 112 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, GRID is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that 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 $8.22 billion in assets, Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has $9.39 billion. IGF has an expense ratio of 0.39%, and PAVE charges 0.47%.
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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First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure ETF (GRID): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Source Zacks-com
