CARZ vs DRIV

CARZCFirst Trust S-Network Future Vehicles & Technology ETF

DRIVBGlobal X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF

In short

CARZ A 2011 vintage that changed lanes. It spent its first decade tracking global carmakers, then in 2022 switched to an index of roughly 100 worldwide names across electric and autonomous vehicles, the tech that runs them, and the materials inside them.

DRIV Most EV funds pick a lane: batteries or carmakers. DRIV buys the whole road, self-driving technology, electric vehicles, and the parts and materials underneath, in roughly 80 stocks from around the world.

Stated mandate

CARZ The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the S-Network Electric & Future Vehicle Ecosystem Index, which focuses on companies involved in electric and autonomous vehicles and related enabling materials and technologies.

DRIV The fund invests in companies developing autonomous-vehicle technology, electric vehicles, and related EV components and materials.

Why people hold it

• CARZ Old ticker, newer mandate: launched in 2011 as a global automaker index fund, it moved to the S-Network Electric & Future Vehicle Ecosystem Index in January 2022.sec.gov
• Covers the chain, not just the badges: about 100 global names spanning electric and autonomous vehicle makers, the enabling technologies, and the materials that feed them.
• The index caps any single holding at 4.5% and weights the rest by float-adjusted market cap, so one megacap cannot quietly become the whole fund.ftportfolios.com

• DRIV Three layers of one theme in a single ticker: autonomous-driving technology, EV makers, and the components and materials feeding both.
• Roughly 80 names spread across the chain, so no single carmaker steers the whole portfolio. One of the better-built baskets in its peer group.
• Global by mandate, not US-only, so the index can reach automakers and suppliers listed outside the States.
• Trading since 2018, with a rules-based Solactive index behind it rather than a manager's stock picks.

Worth knowing

• CARZ The 0.70% expense ratio sits a shade above the peer-group midpoint and well above leaner builds like FDRV (0.39%) and IBAT (0.47%).
• A small asset base and light trading make wider bid-ask spreads more likely here than in the category's heavyweights.
• One industry chain, worldwide: it moves with electric and autonomous vehicle sentiment rather than the broad market, and cash comes back once or twice a year at most.

• DRIV The 0.68% fee sits right at the category median, but cheaper wrappers on nearby themes exist: FDRV charges 0.39% and IDRV 0.48%.
• One industry, one capital cycle. A concentrated theme fund moves harder in both directions than a broad market index.
• Not an income holding: distributions come once or twice a year, and trading volume is moderate rather than mega-liquid.

Full CARZ profile⁠

Full DRIV profile⁠