CSIO vs IFRA

CSIOCCohen & Steers Infrastructure Opportunities Active ETF

IFRAAiShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF

In short

CSIO Global infrastructure without the index. Cohen & Steers runs CSIO as a high-conviction, actively managed book of infrastructure stocks, chosen by fundamental company analysis rather than benchmark weight.

IFRA Most infrastructure funds pick a side: the companies that build the stuff, or the ones that own it. IFRA holds both, stays entirely American, and charges well under the category's typical fee.

Stated mandate

CSIO The Fund seeks total return. It pursues this objective primarily through a high-conviction portfolio of global common stocks and other equity securities issued by infrastructure companies, using active management and fundamental company analysis.

IFRA The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. companies with infrastructure exposure, balancing infrastructure enablers and infrastructure asset owners.

Why people hold it

• CSIO Active and concentrated by design: a high-conviction portfolio of infrastructure equities picked through fundamental company research, not index weights.
• The mandate is global, so the manager can own infrastructure listed outside the US, not just American names.
• The stated objective is total return, so income and capital appreciation both count. No pressure to reach for the highest-yielding names.
• Even as a newcomer, it lands in the upper half of the infrastructure funds we review.

• IFRA 0.30% a year, roughly half the typical fee in the infrastructure category and cheaper than bigger-name rivals IGF (0.37%), GII (0.40%) and PAVE (0.47%).
• Tracks the NYSE FactSet U.S. Infrastructure Index, which balances the enablers (builders and suppliers) against the asset owners, rather than betting on the construction cycle alone.
• Roughly 160 holdings spread the theme wide, and the fund pays out quarterly.
• Running since 2018 with over a billion in assets, it sits among the strongest implementations in its infrastructure peer group.

Worth knowing

• CSIO At 0.65%, it costs more than the index infrastructure funds it sits beside (IGF, IFRA and GII all charge less). That is the standing price of a stock-picker.
• It listed in December 2025 and began life small and lightly traded, which usually means wider bid-ask spreads than the category's veterans.
• Distributions are scheduled once or twice a year, not monthly, so cash arrives in lumps.

• IFRA US-only by design. The overseas toll roads, airports and utilities that global peers like IGF and GII hold are simply not here.
• A narrow slice of the market, so it can move quite differently from a broad US index in either direction.
• Volume is moderate rather than heavy. Limit orders are the sane default, especially around the open and close.

Full CSIO profile⁠

Full IFRA profile⁠