RBLD: FIRST TRUST ALERIAN U.S. NEXTGEN INFRASTRUCTURE ETF
What this ETF is trying to do
The FIRST TRUST ALERIAN U.S. NEXTGEN INFRASTRUCTURE ETF (ticker: RBLD) is an exchange-traded fund designed to invest in next-generation infrastructure. This means it focuses on companies involved in modernizing the systems and technologies that keep our world running.
What the numbers show
The data shows that RBLD has experienced growth in both its share price and its total return over various timeframes.
• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 14.72%, while the total return is approximately 15.47%.
• One-Year: The price return was approximately 12.49%, and the total return was approximately 13.72%.
• Three-Year: The price return was approximately 69.34%, and the total return was approximately 75.69%.
It is important to understand the difference between these two numbers. The price return only measures how much the share price itself changed. The total return includes both the change in share price and the impact of any distributions (cash payments) made by the fund.
Based on an estimated price from roughly one year ago of $76.16, the current price is $85.67.
Income and distribution explanation
RBLD provides cash distributions to investors. The current distribution yield is approximately 1.03%. This yield represents the cash distributions relative to the ETF's current price.
The fund usually pays out on a quarterly basis, with 4 payments recorded over the last 12 months. Most of these recent payments occurred on a Thursday. While distributions provide cash income, they are separate from the total return of the investment.
NAV erosion explanation
"NAV erosion" refers to a decline in the Net Asset Value (the actual value of the assets held by the fund). The supplied data is sufficient to evaluate price erosion, but it does not include enough historical NAV-per-share data to confirm or rule out NAV erosion.
However, looking at price-based evidence, the fund has an erosion score of 100, which is labeled as "No price erosion detected." The erosion severity is rated as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag.
Pros
• Strong Price Growth: The fund has shown significant price returns over the last three years.
• Positive Total Returns: The total return figures are higher than the price return figures, showing that distributions have added to the overall value.
• Low Erosion Risk: The data indicates no detected price erosion.
Cons
• Lower Yield: Compared to some other types of income-focused funds, a 1.03% distribution yield may be considered low for investors seeking high immediate cash flow.
Beginner takeaway
RBLD focuses on modern infrastructure companies. For an investor, the data shows a history of rising share prices and positive total returns. While it pays a quarterly distribution, the primary growth seen in the recent years has come from the increase in the share price itself. Always remember that a distribution yield tells you about cash payments, but it does not tell you the whole story of how much an investment has grown overall.
Top Holdings
Structured portfolio holdings supplied by the ETF data provider. These figures are not generated by the AI article.
| # | Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OKTA INC CLASS A | OKTA | 1.38% |
| 2 | TWILIO INC CLASS A | TWLO | 1.36% |
| 3 | CLOUDFLARE INC | NET | 1.34% |
| 4 | SNOWFLAKE INC ORDINARY SHARES | SNOW | 1.32% |
| 5 | FREEPORT-MCMORAN INC | FCX | 1.29% |
| 6 | MONGODB INC CLASS A | MDB | 1.23% |
| 7 | EMERSON ELECTRIC CO | EMR | 1.17% |
| 8 | NORDSON CORP | NDSN | 1.17% |
| 9 | WESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE TECHNOLOGIES CORP | WAB | 1.17% |
| 10 | NUCOR CORP | NUE | 1.16% |