ICOP vs PRNT

ICOPBiShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF

PRNTDThe 3D Printing ETF

In short

ICOP The copper-miner aisle has a price leader. ICOP tracks a global index of copper and metals miners for 0.47% a year, the lowest sticker in its peer group, with BlackRock's indexing machinery behind it.

PRNT A pure bet on 3D printing: roughly 60 printer makers, software firms and materials suppliers across the US, Taiwan and developed markets, followed by index rather than picked by a manager. Trading since 2016.

Stated mandate

ICOP The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. and non-U.S. equities of companies primarily engaged in copper and metal ore mining.

PRNT The Fund seeks to closely match, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Total 3D-Printing Index. It uses an indexing approach and generally replicates the Index by holding its securities in approximately the same proportions.

Why people hold it

• ICOP At 0.47% a year it is the cheapest fund in the copper-mining cohort, undercutting COPX (0.65%), COPP (0.66%), COPJ (0.75%) and KCOP (0.99%), and sitting below the group's 0.66% median.
• A rules-based pure play: it follows the STOXX Global Copper and Metals Mining Index, holding companies primarily engaged in copper and metal ore mining. Miners' shares, not copper futures, and no stock-picking.ishares.com
• Global by mandate, not by accident: the index reaches U.S. and non-U.S. miners, which is where much of the world's copper actually trades. Distributions are paid quarterly.ishares.com
• One of the stronger builds in a small copper-mining field, pairing the lowest fee in the group with a mainstream iShares index wrapper.

• PRNT Whole-portfolio exposure to one theme. No mega-cap ballast diluting the story, just roughly 60 names tied to the 3D printing chain across the US, Taiwan and developed markets.ark-funds.com
• Rules first, hunches never. It tracks the Total 3D-Printing Index, so holdings come from published methodology instead of a manager's conviction.ark-funds.com
• Launched in 2016, a long run for a theme this narrow. Plenty of thematic funds never see a full market cycle.

Worth knowing

• ICOP Non-diversified by design: a few dozen miners levered to one metal, with the largest names carrying a big slice. Copper prices and mine-level news drive the ride.ishares.com
• A large share of the basket is listed outside the U.S., so currency moves and foreign market risks come along with the copper exposure.ishares.com
• It launched in 2023, so the live record is short, and trading is moderate rather than heavy. Limit orders earn their keep on bigger tickets.

• PRNT At 0.66% a year, it costs more than the typical global thematic fund. Narrow niches rarely come cheap.
• Modest asset base and light trading. Spreads can widen, so limit orders matter more here than in a mega-cap index fund.
• One theme, roughly 60 stocks, many of them small industrials. Swings run bigger than a broad equity fund's, in both directions.

Full ICOP profile⁠

Full PRNT profile⁠