Diageo is the largest holding in the ETF, commanding about 18% of the fund’s weight. The ETF allocates almost 87% of its weight to distillers with the rest of the lineup split among brewers, soft drink makers and apparel producers. Craft spirits are also seen as a catalyst for the whiskey industry.
“Demand has been building for more than a decade. As of August 2016, there were 1,315 active craft distillers active in the U.S., according to the American Craft Spirits Association. Ten years ago, there were just over three dozen. This renaissance has attracted plenty of new customers. Sales of bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey reached $3.1 billion last year, up around 8% from 2015, according to the Distilled Spirits Council,” reports Fortune.
International demand is integral to the whiskey investment thesis.
“India is the leading whiskey consumer and secures the largest share of the whiskey market in APAC. Countries like China, Japan, Australia, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, and others are the key contributors to the market,” according to Technavio.
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