3 Soaring Cloud Computing ETFs

The technology sector is proving to be a premier source of strength this year. Just look at the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), which was the first of the major domestic equity benchmarks to return to positive territory following the March market swoon.

Within the broader technology universe, several sub-groups are standing out, including cloud computing. For example, the ISE CTA Cloud Computing Index entered Monday with a year-to-date gain of 9.54%.

For awhile, the universe of dedicated cloud computing exchange traded funds was sparsely populated, but that's changed over the past couple of year and some of the new additions to the group are performing well this year. Consider some of the following ideas.

Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU)

The Global X Cloud Computing ETF CLOU remains one of the success stories of the thematic ETF realm. At just about 13 months old, the Global X ETF has nearly $597 million in assets under management, indicating there's room for competition and innovation in the cloud ETF space.

CLOU follows the Indxx Global Cloud Computing Index and is a play on “companies positioned to benefit from the increased adoption of cloud computing technology, including companies whose principal business is in offering computing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), managed server storage space and data center real estate investment trusts, and/or cloud and edge computing infrastructure and hardware,” according to Global X.

Recently on a string of hitting all-time highs, including Monday, CLOU is up an impressive 18.82% year to date.

WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund (WCLD)

The WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund WCLD is another emerging success story in the cloud ETF arena with nearly $80 million in assets under management after coming to market just last September. WCLD follows the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index, which is an equal-weight benchmark.

“Cloud computing has become ingrained in nearly every aspect of our lives by fundamentally altering how we consume, process and share information in the digital age,” according to WisdomTree. “Through our research, WisdomTree believes this trend toward cloud-based solutions offers a compelling, long-term opportunity for investors to gain exposure to one of the most exciting segments of the technology sector.”

Although WCLD is an equal-weight ETF, it's benefiting from high-flying Zoom Video ZM being its top component. That's helping WCLD to a 2020 gain of 24%. The WisdomTree ETF also hit an all-time high on Monday.

First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY)

The First Trust Cloud Computing ETF SKYY is the fund that got the cloud ETF party started nearly nine years ago and while it's a behemoth compared to its aforementioned rivals with $3.2 billion in assets, it's not necessarily the best fund in this category.

SKYY is a fine idea for investors looking to lean toward the largest cloud companies. Think Amazon AMZN and Microsoft MSFT, among others. Undoubtedly, that helps, but SKYY's performance is restrained by the mega-cap holdings as it's up just 9.5% this year. Of course, that's better than the broader market.