ROBO Global, world’s first benchmark index to track robotics, automation and AI, turns five

Wednesday marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of the ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index, the world’s first benchmark index to track global companies that focus on robotics, automation and artificial intelligence. And, its growth has been explosive.

Since its inception in 2013, the index has returned a compound annual 19%, comfortably outperforming other benchmarks. The ROBO index is now used as a performance benchmark for funds and market growth and financial institutions use it as a basis for exchange-traded funds, also known as ETFs.

Investors can buy directly into the popular ROBO ETF based on the benchmark index comprised of 87 top robotics, automation and AI companies.

BIG PICTURE: ROBO Global captures the high-octane growth of robotics and artificial intelligence

Five years ago, when the ROBO Global team partnered with Exchange Traded Concepts to launch the ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF (NYSEArca:ROBO), it marked the first time such an investment strategy was available.

The increased investor appetite for exposure to robotics, automation and artificial intelligence, or RAAI stocks is reflected in the size of the ETF which crossed $2.08 billion in assets under management in September 2018.

The fund, which has delivered a 68.85% cumulative return since inception, invests in 87 top robotics, automation and AI companies across the globe.

“Our mission remains the same as it was five years ago — to provide investors turnkey access to the transformative power of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence,” said Travis Briggs, CEO of ROBO Global US.

“Ringing the closing bell at the NYSE, along with the help of our partners at Teradyne and Universal Robots, who will be providing a robot to ring the bell, is symbolic not only of the tremendous progress we’ve made over the last five years in RAAI investing, but what could lie ahead,” he added.

From inception to investment

Half the index is made up of companies that are linked to the enabling technologies of robotics and automation. Those enabling technologies include sensors, processors, machine vision, computing, AI and actuation, which is a set of components that allow robots to move.

To create the index, ROBO Global tapped into a panel of experts, mainly Ph.Ds, who are entrepreneurs, academics and rock stars in the RAAI universe. Today, there are 10 advisors who augment a full-time team that goes out and identifies potential stocks for the index.

Kiva Systems co-founder Raffaello D’Andrea is on the advisory board and has strong street cred — he sold Kiva to Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) in 2012. Kiva’s robots automate the picking and packing at Amazon warehouses. The robots — 16 inches tall and almost 320 pounds — can move at 5 mph, hauling packages that weigh up to 698 pounds.

Notably, ROBO Global recently expanded its advisory board to include well-known roboticist Daniela Rus, the director of MIT’s groundbreaking Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL).

“These cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, will continue to transform the global economy,” Briggs said. “Our entire team is determined to provide investors with a portfolio that attempts to capture the growth potential of these industries.”

Contact Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive 

Story by ProactiveInvestors