How Are Robotics-AI ETFs Doing?

How do exchange-traded-funds (ETF) focused on development of robotics-artificial intelligence (AI), an arguably hot area of technology, perform? To investigate, we consider five of the largest such ETFs, all currently available, as follows:

• • Robo Global Robotics and Automation Index (ROBO)
  • ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics (ARKQ)
  • Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence (BOTZ)
  • First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (ROBT)
  • iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector (IRBO)

We use Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) as a benchmark, assuming investors look at robotics-AI stocks as a way to beat other technology stocks. We focus on monthly return statistics, along with compound annual growth rates (CAGR) and maximum drawdowns (MaxDD). Using monthly total returns for the five robotics-AI ETFs and QQQ as available through January 2023, we find that: (more…)