BOTZ vs FBOT

BOTZCGlobal X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF

FBOTBFidelity Disruptive Automation ETF

In short

BOTZ One of the original robotics-and-AI ETFs, running since 2016 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund: roughly 60 developed-market names covering industrial robots, factory automation and autonomous vehicles.

FBOT Most robotics funds hand the job to an index. FBOT hands it to Fidelity's analysts: about 50 global picks spanning industrial robots, machine vision, autonomous driving and 3D printing, for 0.50% a year.

Stated mandate

BOTZ BOTZ seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Indxx Global Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index. It invests primarily in companies benefiting from robotics and AI adoption, including industrial and non-industrial robotics and autonomous vehicles.

FBOT The fund seeks long-term capital growth by normally investing at least 80% of its assets in securities of disruptive automation companies.

Why people hold it

• BOTZ Trading since 2016 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund, so getting in and out tends to be straightforward.
• Tracks a published Indxx robotics and AI index, so the basket is set by disclosed rules rather than a manager's stock-picking mood.
• Roughly 60 developed-market names spanning industrial and non-industrial robotics and autonomous vehicles: a concentrated theme, not mega-cap tech in disguise.

• FBOT Fidelity's analysts pick the names, and the fund's definition of automation runs from robotics and machine vision to autonomous driving, EVs and 3D printing.sec.gov
• At 0.50% a year it undercuts the typical robotics and automation fund, and it concentrates in about 50 stocks rather than spreading the theme thin.
• Born a 2020 Fidelity mutual fund, converted to an ETF in 2023, so there is real live history behind the strategy and holdings posted daily.fidelity.com
• One of the stronger builds in the robotics and automation group on cost, portfolio construction and risk profile.

Worth knowing

• BOTZ The 0.68% fee sits above the robotics cohort median, and cheaper shelf-mates exist: BOTT at 0.35%, IBOT at 0.47%.
• About 60 stocks in a single theme means one company's stumble moves this fund far more than it would a broad index.
• Distributions come once or twice a year, so it works as a theme holding rather than an income line.

• FBOT Thinly traded next to the giant thematic funds, so bid-ask spreads and order size matter more here.
• Two peers charge less: BOTT at 0.35% and IBOT at 0.47%.
• No index to fall back on. Results ride on the manager's calls, and the theme can reach into any sector, so the fund can behave unlike broad tech.sec.gov

Full BOTZ profile⁠

Full FBOT profile⁠