Artificial Intelligence ETFs: Have They Beaten The Market In 2024?

Artificial intelligence companies have captivated the markets as the proliferation of AI looks to be a major disruptor in several industries. Investors have poured funds into AI exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to diversify their portfolios.

The largest AI ETFs are the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF BOTZ, the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF AIQ and the ROBO Global Robotics And Automation Index ETF ROBO. A question to ask is: Have they beaten the overall market?

BOTZ ETF: According to data compiled from etf.com, the BOTZ ETF is the largest AI ETF with $2.76 billion in assets under management. BOTZ has appreciated by 10.63% in year-to-date 2024.

BOTZ’s largest holdings are NVIDIA Corp NVDA,10.45%; ABB Ltd ABBNY, 9.24% and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. ISRG, 8.24%, all of which have performed well in 2024. Other holdings such as UiPath Inc PATH and Fanuc ADR FANUY have underperformed.

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AIQ ETF: The AIQ ETF has $1.88 billion in assets under management while appreciating by 10.33% in year-to-date 2024.

AIQ’s largest holdings are in NVIDIA, 4.84%; Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY, 3.97% and Qualcomm Inc QCOM, 3.66%: these equities have outperformed the market in 2024.

ROBO ETF: The ROBO ETF has $1.27 billion in assets under management; ROBO has traded down 0.94% in 2024.

ROBO’s holdings are more equally weighted than their AI ETF counterparts. ROBO could not capitalize as much on NVIDIA’s performance as it comprises just 1.82% of the ETF’s assets. Holdings such as Autodesk, Inc. ADSK, 0.95% and OMRON Corp OMRNY, 1.25%, are down in 2024.

S&P 500 Performance: None of the aforementioned AI ETFs were able to outperform the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, which tracks a diversified assortment of 500 of the largest U.S. equities. The S&P has appreciated by 11.46% in 2024. Much of the S&P 500’s performance can be attributed to its increasingly high weight in tech giants such as NVIDIA, 5.79%; Microsoft Corp MSFT, 7.17% and Amazon.com Inc AMZN, 3.74%.

(Share price data taken at the time of writing on Wednesday.)

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