AI ETF NYSE Arca: ROBO ROBO Global

ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF (ROBO)

The first robotics ETF. Industrial automation and AI across 13 sub-sectors.

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✓ Reviewed by AI Decoded Editorial Team Updated March 2026

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Key Fund Stats

0.95%

Expense Ratio

Annual fee charged by the fund

$1.1B

Assets Under Management

Total fund AUM as of March 2026

Holdings

Number of positions in the fund

2013

Inception Year

Year the fund launched

-10.1%

YTD Return

Year-to-date performance (March 2026)

+8.9%

1-Year Return

Trailing 12-month performance

4/5

AI Exposure Score

Strong AI exposure with some diversification.

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡

⚡ About AI Exposure Score: Reflects how heavily this ETF tilts toward AI and automation revenue. 5 = nearly all holdings are AI-driven. 1 = AI is a minor theme. Editorial assessment — not a buy/sell signal.

What is ROBO?

ROBO Global launched in 2013 — the original robotics ETF, predating the AI boom by nearly a decade. It tracks the ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index, which covers 13 sub-sectors from surgical robotics to autonomous vehicles to AI software.

The fund's proprietary index methodology equally weights sub-sectors, giving more exposure to smaller, purer-play companies vs market-cap-weighted funds that tilt toward mega-caps. This means more exposure to Japanese precision manufacturers, European automation companies, and US medical robotics firms.

Top 5 Holdings

Holding	Weight
Intuitive Surgical	3.2%
Cognex Corp	2.9%
Fanuc Corp	2.8%
Keyence Corp	2.7%
Zebra Technologies	2.6%

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Upcoming Catalysts

Equal-weight sub-sector approach means less mega-cap dependency vs QQQ/VGT
Surgical robotics sub-sector accelerating post-pandemic (Intuitive Surgical, Stryker)
Warehouse automation boom (Amazon, Walmart CapEx) plays to industrial robotics holdings

Key Risks

Highest expense ratio (0.95%) in this group — significant drag over time
Sub-sector equal weighting may underperform cap-weighted approaches in mega-cap AI runs
Heavy international exposure increases currency and geopolitical risk
Longest track record — but 2013-2022 performance lagged QQQ significantly

Compare with Similar ETFs

BOTZ — The original AI & robotics ETF. Pure-play exposure to intelligent machines.
IRBO — BlackRock's AI + robotics pick. 108 holdings, equal-weighted, global.

Sources: ROBO Global ETF page (March 2026), ETF.com, Morningstar

⚠️ Not financial advice. ETF data is for informational purposes only. Expense ratios, holdings, and returns change — verify current data on the fund issuer's website before investing. Past performance does not guarantee future results.