IFRA vs OBOR

IFRAAiShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF

OBORDKraneShares MSCI One Belt One Road Index ETF

In short

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.

OBOR A one-idea fund: the build-out of China's One Belt One Road. It buys companies worldwide (developed, emerging and frontier) whose revenue rides on China infrastructure, not just Chinese-listed names.

Stated mandate

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

OBOR OBOR seeks to track the price and yield performance of an MSCI index designed to identify companies that may benefit from China’s One Belt One Road infrastructure initiative.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• OBOR Launched in 2017 as a rare direct route to the Belt and Road theme, tracking MSCI's Global China Infrastructure Exposure Index.kraneshares.com
• The screen is revenue-based, not address-based: developed, emerging and frontier market companies with high revenue exposure to China infrastructure development.msci.com
• Roughly 130 holdings spread the theme across a supply chain rather than a handful of contractors.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• OBOR At 0.79%, it costs more than the typical infrastructure ETF (cohort median 0.55%); broader peers like IGF (0.37%) and PAVE (0.47%) charge less.
• Small and thinly traded, so spreads can be wide and limit orders matter. Sub-scale funds also carry more closure risk than large ones.
• One policy program, one government's priorities drive the theme, and cash comes back only once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full IFRA profile⁠

Full OBOR profile⁠