Australian ETF manager BetaShares has launched the BetaShares Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (RBTZ) on the ASX.
RBTZ provides access to the disruptive Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) sectors through exposure to a portfolio of global companies involved in production or use of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence products and services – including industrial robots, autonomous vehicles and applications of large-scale machine learning.
The Robotics and AI sectors are on rapid growth trajectories, with revenue from sales of industrial and non-industrial robots forecast to grow over 30 per cent pa to reach USD500 billion, and revenue from AI software forecast to grow ~55 per cent pa to reach USD37 billion by 2025.
“As we’re already seeing, Robotics and AI products are beginning to disrupt multiple industries.” says BetaShares CEO, Alex Vynokur. “Ageing populations, rising labour costs, and an opportunity for performance improvements are all significant economic incentives promoting further development of the area, explaining significant growth in the adoption of robotics and artificial intelligence solutions across a number of industries.”
Recent statistics exemplify not only the existing significance of Robotics & AI technologies, but also the potential for substantial future growth. For example, industrial robots have already automated 10-15 per cent of manufacturing functions, however expectations are for this to increase to 25 per cent by 2025.
RBTZ aims to track the Indxx Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index.
At the time of writing, some of largest holdings of RBTZ include innovative companies such as: Fanuc, a global manufacturer of industrial robots with more than 22.5 million products installed worldwide; and Intuitive Surgical, the producer of the da Vinci surgical system, which is one of the first robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgical systems cleared by the FDA, and today is used by surgeons in all 50 US States and in 66 countries around the world.
In the three years to August 2018, the Index has generated annual returns of 35 per cent.
“In a single trade on the ASX, RBTZ delivers access to dozens of companies with high exposure to the transformational robotics and AI theme, that has very little stock representation in Australia,” says Vynokur.
