HAIL vs WRND

HAILBState Street SPDR S&P Kensho Smart Mobility ETF

WRNDBNYLI Global Equity R&D Leaders ETF

In short

HAIL A 2017-vintage bet on how the world moves: self-driving and connected cars, drones, and the software that routes them. Kensho's machine-read index picks the names, at a fee below the typical global thematic fund.

WRND Most innovation funds sell you a story. WRND buys receipts: roughly 200 companies worldwide picked on what they actually spend on R&D and whether that spending earns a return, at a fee well under the thematic norm.

Stated mandate

HAIL The fund seeks to track the S&P Kensho Smart Transportation Index, which targets companies advancing smart transportation through autonomous and connected vehicles, drones, and advanced transportation tracking and optimization systems.

WRND The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the IQ Global Equity R&D Leaders Index. Its passive strategy targets innovative companies worldwide based on high research and development spending.

Why people hold it

• HAIL 0.45% a year, below the median fee for global thematic funds. Cheap is rare in a niche this narrow.
• About 90 names across autonomous and connected vehicles, drones, and transport tracking systems, so no single stock has to carry the whole theme.ssga.com
• A defined slice, not a catch-all innovation basket: the index screens for companies actually advancing smart transportation, globally rather than US-only.ssga.com
• Sits in the upper half of its global thematic peer group, with a State Street 1940 Act wrapper and quarterly distributions behind it.

• WRND 0.18% a year against a 0.56% median for its global thematic peers. Innovation exposure without the boutique markup.newyorklifeinvestments.com
• Selection leans on the income statement: R&D intensity paired with return on invested capital, favoring firms that turn research budgets into results.newyorklifeinvestments.com
• Roughly 200 names from a global universe, one of three R&D-screened funds New York Life launched in 2022 rather than a one-off experiment.businesswire.com

Worth knowing

• HAIL Small asset base and thin trading. Spreads can run wider than in the big thematic funds, and that gap is a real cost on the way in and out.
• One theme, all equity, roughly 90 stocks. It has been among the more volatile funds in its cohort and moves with sentiment on mobility tech.
• Cheap for its niche, not cheap outright. Broad global peers like KLMT (0.10%) and PBPH (0.13%) charge a fraction of it for wider mandates.

• WRND Small and lightly traded, so bid/ask spreads tend to run wider than on mainstream global index funds.
• Weighting by R&D dollars, with a cap on any single position, tilts the book toward the world's largest research spenders.businesswire.cometfstrategy.com
• Distributions arrive quarterly, but income isn't the mandate; the index screens on research spending, not payouts.

Full HAIL profile⁠

Full WRND profile⁠