ICOP vs WRND

ICOPBiShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF

WRNDBNYLI Global Equity R&D Leaders 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.

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

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.

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 ICOP profile⁠

Full WRND profile⁠