Is iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Making its debut on 12/08/2014, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN) provides investors broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.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.Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.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 & IndexCRBN is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $994.85 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, CRBN seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index.The MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index is designed to address two dimensions of carbon exposure ? carbon emissions and potential carbon emissions from fossil fuel reserves.Cost & Other ExpensesWhen considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.With one of the least expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.20%.It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.71%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsIt is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.When you look at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 5.3% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).CRBN's top 10 holdings account for about 25.95% of its total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has added roughly 20.52% and it's up approximately 15.86% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/09/2025), respectively. CRBN has traded between $170.20 and $233.46 during this last 52-week period. CRBN has a beta of 0.92 and standard deviation of 14.05% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a low risk choice in the space. With about 1017 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .AlternativesiShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV) tracks FTSE US ALL CAP CHOICE INDEX and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) tracks MSCI USA ESG Focus Index. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF has $11.82 billion in assets, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has $15.25 billion. ESGV has an expense ratio of 0.09% and ESGU changes 0.15%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World ETFsBottom LineTo 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.Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF InsightsZacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week.Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!Get it now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF (CRBN): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks