CSIO vs IGF

CSIOCCohen & Steers Infrastructure Opportunities Active ETF

IGFAiShares Global 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.

IGF About 80 developed-market infrastructure companies in one ticker, tracked against the S&P Global Infrastructure Index since 2007, for 0.37% a year (well under the category norm).

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.

IGF The Fund seeks to track an index of developed-market equities focused on the infrastructure industry.

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.

• IGF Costs 0.37% a year against a cohort median of 0.55%, so the toll on a long hold is smaller than most infrastructure funds charge.
• The one other fund on the same S&P Global Infrastructure Index, GII, charges 0.40%. Same benchmark, cheaper wrapper here.
• Trading since December 2007, now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund that has tracked its index closely.
• Goes global where the biggest peers stay home: IFRA and PAVE are US-only, while this one spans developed markets worldwide.

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.

• IGF About 80 holdings in one industry. A concentrated basket, so a bad stretch for utilities or transport operators shows up fast.
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year, not monthly, and foreign holdings bring currency swings along with the dividends.
• Developed markets only. The fast-building infrastructure of emerging economies sits outside the mandate.

Full CSIO profile⁠

Full IGF profile⁠