The ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF (NASDAQ: ROBO), the original ETF dedicated to robotics investing, is undoubtedly one of this year’s best success stories among ETFs. Not only is ROBO up 43% year-to-date, making it one of the best-performing non-leveraged ETFs, it is adding new assets at a feverish pace.
ROBO follows “the ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index, “which is the brainchild of a team deeply entrenched in the robotics industry who created the innovative methodology,” according to Dallas-based ROBO Global. “The index and subsequent ETF offer investors access to the entire value chain of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence. The ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index is comprised of 84 global companies from 14 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and offers almost no overlap with traditional equity indices.”
ROBO is at the forefront of what some market observers say will be a long-term boom in demand for artificial intelligence and robotics technologies.
“Over time, we believe A.I. will have an economic impact that is measured in trillions, not billions, of dollars. This sentiment is backed up by a few big names in technology,” said Jeremie Capron, Managing Director of Research for ROBO Global, in an interview with ETF Daily News. “Among those big names: Bill Gates predicted nearly ten years ago that robotic systems will become a nearly ubiquitous part of our lives like computers and the internet. Jeff Bezos recently said A.I. is now in a renaissance period, and that it will eventually have dramatic effects on the economy. Consulting firm Accenture also estimated that the impact of AI on labor productivity in developed economies will be as high as 40 percent by 2035.”