BOTT vs BULD

BOTTBThemes Humanoid Robotics ETF

BULDBPacer BlueStar Engineering the Future ETF

In short

BOTT Most robotics funds buy the whole factory floor. BOTT buys the androids: about 30 global names across the humanoid and service robot value chain, at 0.35% a year.

BULD Most robotics funds stop at the robots. BULD's index keeps going up the line to 3D printing and computer-aided design, the software that draws the part before a machine builds it. Rules-based, global, roughly 60 names, 0.49%.

Stated mandate

BOTT The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, an index of companies deriving significant revenue from designing and developing humanoid and service robots.

BULD The fund uses a rules-based approach to provide exposure to globally listed companies and depositary receipts focused on robotics and manufacturing automation, 3D printing, or computer-aided design. It seeks to track the BlueStar Robotics and 3D Printing Index.

Why people hold it

• BOTT At 0.35% it undercuts the typical robotics and automation ETF (median 0.65%) and every peer ranked above it: IBOT at 0.47%, FBOT and FDIF at 0.50%.
• A true pure play. Its index, the Solactive Global Humanoid Robotics Index, targets companies building humanoid and service robots, not the broad factory automation basket.themesetfs.com
• Global mandate, about 30 names. Tight enough that the humanoid theme actually shows up in the portfolio instead of getting buried under mega-cap ballast.themesetfs.com
• Sits in the upper half of its robotics and automation peer group, one of the stronger builds of a very young theme.

• BULD The mandate reaches past robots. The index covers robotics and manufacturing automation, 3D printing and computer-aided design, held through globally listed shares and depositary receipts.paceretfs.com
• Fee is 0.49%, under the median for its robotics and automation peer group. A couple of rivals go lower: BOTT at 0.35%, IBOT at 0.47%.
• Passive and rules-based. The BlueStar Robotics and 3D Printing Index sets the roughly 60 holdings, so the recipe is published rather than left to a manager's discretion.paceretfs.com
• Live since 2022 and sits in the upper half of its robotics and automation cohort in our review.

Worth knowing

• BOTT Lightly traded next to the category's giants, so spreads can be wider and bigger orders need more care at the point of trade.
• Short file: the fund launched in 2024 and Themes relaunched it with the humanoid focus in 2025, so there is little live history to judge.globenewswire.com
• About 30 stocks in one early-stage theme is concentrated, swingy exposure, and cash comes back to you once or twice a year at most.

• BULD Small asset base and light trading. Bid/ask spreads can cost more than the headline fee on a given trade, especially in size.
• Roughly 60 stocks in one industrial theme, listed around the world, so moves in a narrow slice of the market and in foreign currencies show up directly.
• Distributions land annually or semiannually. This is a theme wrapper, not a cash-flow one.

Full BOTT profile⁠

Full BULD profile⁠