CIBR vs PSWD

CIBRBFirst Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF

PSWDBXtrackers Cybersecurity Select Equity ETF

In short

CIBR A 2015-vintage cybersecurity fund that grew into a multi-billion-dollar one. It tracks the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity Index with a tight basket of roughly 30 names, so every holding carries real weight.

PSWD Cybersecurity at a discount: PSWD charges 0.20% for a focused basket of about 50 security names, well under half the typical fee in its category. The trade-off is scale, not strategy: it's a small 2023 launch.

Stated mandate

CIBR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity Index through an indexing approach. It normally invests at least 90% of net assets in the index's common stocks and depositary receipts.

PSWD The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Solactive Cyber Security ESG Screened Index.

Why people hold it

• CIBR Concentrated on purpose: roughly 30 stocks screened by the index as cybersecurity businesses, not a broad tech basket wearing a cyber label.
• Size and turnover work in your favor here: a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which is what keeps spreads workable on a niche theme.
• Runs to the rulebook: at least 90% of net assets in the index's common stocks and depositary receipts, and it has tracked that index closely.
• Live since 2015, through multiple cyber hype cycles, and one of the stronger implementations in its peer group.

• PSWD Fee leader in the theme: 0.20% a year, against 0.47% for IHAK, 0.58% for CIBR and 0.60% for HACK. The category median sits at 0.50%.
• Pure-play and disciplined: roughly 50 cybersecurity companies drawn from a rules-based Solactive index, and the portfolio has tracked that benchmark closely.
• Runs on Xtrackers plumbing, the ETF arm of DWS, rather than a one-fund boutique.dws.com

Worth knowing

• CIBR At 0.58% a year it sits above the 0.50% cybersecurity-ETF median, and cheaper shelves exist: IHAK at 0.47%, WCBR at 0.45%.
• One theme, about 30 names. A few holdings drive the outcome, so this behaves like a slice of tech, not a diversified core.
• Distributions land quarterly, but this is a growth-equity theme; the index tracks cybersecurity businesses, not payout streams.

• PSWD Small asset base and light trading volume. Spreads can run wider than at the category's household names, which matters most on larger orders.
• The screen is not permanent: Xtrackers filed to drop the index's ESG screen and rename it the Solactive Cyber Security Focus Index.sec.gov
• One theme, about 50 holdings, non-diversified by design. Expect sharper swings than a broad technology fund.

Full CIBR profile⁠

Full PSWD profile⁠