Infrastructure ETFs offer investors a diversified approach to this lucrative sector. Moreover, the infrastructure industry sits at the brink of global disruption. Investors can get in on companies making the changes that are shifting capital availability, changing environmental priorities and rapid urbanization. Moreover, this presents a unique opportunity for investors to get in early on disruptions in this sector.

List of 6 Infrastructure ETFs

• Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (BATS: PAVE)
• iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (Nasdaq: IGF)
• FlexShares STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index Fund (NYSE: NFRA)
• iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (BATS: IFRA)
• SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF (NYSE: SSGA)
• Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (NYSE: ENFR)

Below, I’ll go over the highlights for these infrastructure funds below. This includes a description of each fund, the fund’s top holdings and investor returns.

Infrastructure ETFs to Buy in 2022

Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF

Expense Ratio: 0.47%

Holdings: 98

The Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF offers exposure to domestic infrastructure development. The list includes companies with a focus on construction and engineering, raw materials, composites and transportation companies. It also includes companies with a heavy focus on construction equipment production and distribution. It seeks to track the S&P Global Infrastructure Index.

PAVE manages assets worth around $4 billion, making it the largest dedicated infrastructure ETF on Wall Street. Among its holdings are stocks that are publicly traded in the construction materials, heavy equipment, engineering and construction sectors.

The portfolio has a broad scope despite a targeted approach. Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has about 98 total positions. Some of the company’s top holdings include Nucor, Sempra Energy, Deere & Co., Fastenal and CSX. Moreover, this fund is highly diversified with no assets representing more than around 4% per holding.

Similar to the performance of the rest of Wall Street, the fund has lost about 20% this year so far.

iShares Global Infrastructure ETF

Expense Ratio: 0.43%

Holdings: 75 

The iShares Global Infrastructure ETF offers exposure to companies that provide transportation, communication, water and electricity services. It also seeks to track the S&P Global Infrastructure Index.

The index tracks the performance of the stocks of large infrastructure companies around the world. It contains companies in developed markets around the world. So, you should keep in mind that this fund is not exclusive to U.S.-based stocks. However, nearly 40% of this ETF contains U.S.-based companies. Moreover, some of the international companies in this ETF do business in the states. If you’re looking to invest in a domestic infrastructure ETF, check out the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF in the list below.

This fund currently has more than $3 billion in total assets. Its top holdings include Atlantia, Transurban, Enbridge, Aena and NextEra Energy. This fund is highly diversified, similar to the infrastructure ETF above. Its top holding carries 5% of the fund.

This infrastructure ETF is faring well despite ongoing market volatility. The fund is down around 3% so far in 2022.

FlexShares STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index Fund

Expense Ratio: 0.48%

Holdings: 220

FlexShares STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index Fund seeks to track STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index. The index reflects the performance of public infrastructure companies in the developed and emerging markets. It targets loosely-defined infrastructure sectors including energy, communications, utilities, transportation and government outsourcing.

This fund has around $2 billion in total assets. However, this fund is the largest infrastructure ETF in terms of holdings. The fund currently has around 220 holdings. Its top holdings consist of the Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Verizon, Comcast and Enbridge. Similar to the ETFs above, this fund is highly diversified. Its top holding accounts for 5% of the entire fund.

This fund is in the red so far in 2022 with it being down 12%. However, it’s performing relatively well compared to the rest of the market. The fund’s stability is largely due to this fund’s diversification.

iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF

Expense Ratio: 0.30%

Holdings: 163

The iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF tracks the NYSE FactSet U.S. Infrastructure Index. It offers exposure to two groups of infrastructure companies: owners and operators, such as railroads and utilities, and enablers, such as materials and construction companies. So, investing in this fund can provide investors with access to infrastructure companies that may benefit from increased infrastructure activity in the United States.

This infrastructure ETF is smaller than the rest with assets reported around $1 billion. Despite this, this fund is one of the most diversified on this list. It has over 160 holdings in total. Furthermore, each stock in this fund accounts for less than about 1% of the portfolio. So, the wide diversification helps combat market volatility.

This infrastructure ETF is down nearly 13% in 2022. However, this fund is promising long-term with returns of nearly 30% in the last five years. So, this fund should pick up when the market cools down a bit.

SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF

Expense Ratio: 0.40%

Holdings: 75

The SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF seeks to track the performance of the S&P Global Infrastructure Index. The index comprises 75 of the largest publicly listed infrastructure companies.

The index has exposure to companies across transportation, utility and energy infrastructure sub-industries. Approximately 42% of its portfolio consists of industrials and 39% focuses on utilities. The remaining 20% consists of energy stocks.

This infrastructure fund’s top holdings include Atlantia, Transurban, Enbridge, Aena and NextEra Energy. Moreover, this fund is similar to the others with its diversification. The top holding in this fund carries around 5% weight in the fund.

This fund is holding up well with ongoing market volatility with -3% returns in 2022. So, this is one of the promising infrastructure ETFs as the market goes back to normal.

Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF

Expense Ratio: 0.35%

Holdings: 33

The Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF targets the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index. This index includes companies operating in the midstream energy infrastructure sector in North America. It includes corporations and master limited partnerships (MLPs) dealing with pipeline transportation, rail and energy storage and processing.

Approximately 90% of the fund’s holdings are in companies involved in the gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas and petroleum. Its top holdings include Enbridge, Enterprise Products Partners, TC Energy, Energy Transfer and Cheniere Energy. This fund is less diversified than the others on this list with its top three holdings representing over 25% of the fund.

This ETF is in the green so far in 2022 with returns over 6% year-to-date. Moreover, with the rest of the market generally in the red, this presents a huge opportunity for investors looking to get in on diversified infrastructure stocks.

The Final Line on Infrastructure ETFs

Infrastructure ETFs offer investors a diversified, lower-risk approach to investing in this sector. Moreover, investing in disruptors of the industry can produce big returns for investors.

However, make sure to do your research before investing. Returns on investments are never guaranteed and there are always risks with investing. However, this is where doing a deep dive on a fund can make all the difference.

For other infrastructure investment opportunities, check out these infrastructure stocks. There are lots investment opportunities to consider today…