At a glance
RBLD charges 0.65% a year, above the 0.26% average of the 8 funds most like it (the most expensive of 9). It has $40.5M in assets, the 9th largest of that group; it paid 1.02% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +11.8% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), 3rd of those 9 funds; over three years it returned +22.0% a year. Its ten largest positions make up 13.9% of the fund, out of 102 in all.
The short version
First Trust Alerian US NextGen Infrastructure ETF (RBLD) is an index fund that tracks the Alerian U.S. NextGen Infrastructure Index. The index holds 100 US-listed infrastructure companies at equal weights, from utilities and steel makers to cloud software firms. Equal weighting gives every company the same share of the fund instead of tilting toward the giants. Its 0.65% expense ratio, however, is the highest among nine similar funds, whose average is 0.26%.
Price history
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RBLD +11.8% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBLD official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +13.95% | — | +10.39% | +7.29% | +7.22% |
| RBLD price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +14.6% | +11.8% | +22.0% | — | — | +15.4% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, RBLD returned +11.8%, 3rd of 9 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+14.0%); its best was 2023 (+19.4%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 19.1% (Nov 29, 2024 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Jul 3, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +14.6% | — |
| 2025 | +14.0% | +13.95% |
| 2024 | +17.9% | +18.16% |
| 2023 | +19.4% | +19.05% |
| 2022 | — | -9.90% |
| 2021 | — | +13.49% |
| 2020 | — | -0.48% |
| 2019 | — | +12.65% |
| 2018 | — | -21.06% |
| 2017 | — | +22.43% |
| 2016 | — | +13.79% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Not in the price data, which starts Aug 2, 2022 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Not in the price data, which starts Aug 2, 2022 |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.5400 | |
| 2025 | $0.8900 | +1.1% |
| 2024 | $0.8800 | +31.3% |
| 2023 | $0.6700 |
What's inside
As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 102 securities; the ten largest made up 13.87% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| SNOWFLAKE INC | 1.83% | |
| BLOOM ENERGY CORP | 1.80% | |
| TWILIO INC | 1.57% | |
| MONGODB INC | 1.39% | |
| CATERPILLAR INC | 1.28% | |
| NVENT ELECTRIC PLC | 1.25% | |
| CLOUDFLARE INC | 1.21% | |
| COMFORT SYSTEMS USA INC | 1.19% | |
| ROCKWELL AUTOMATION INC | 1.19% | |
| QUANTA SERVICES INC | 1.17% | |
| TALEN ENERGY CORP | 1.17% | |
| GE VERNOVA INC | 1.15% | |
| NUCOR CORP | 1.15% | |
| STEEL DYNAMICS INC | 1.15% | |
| CARRIER GLOBAL CORP | 1.13% |
By country
United States 93.82%Ireland 5.06%Curaçao 0.84%Italy 0%By asset type
Stocks 99.72%By sector
Sectors of the companies held, for the 60.5% of the fund in companies that have a stock page here; other holdings and cash aren't classified. Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Jun 30, 2026. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $17.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +9.03%, -0.46%, +2.23%.
How it works
RBLD tracks the Alerian U.S. NextGen Infrastructure Index, which VettaFi owns and maintains. The fund normally keeps at least 90% of its net assets in the index's stocks. To qualify, a company must be listed on a major US exchange and belong to one of 29 industry groups tied to building, owning or operating infrastructure. It must also meet size, float (shares freely available to trade) and trading-volume standards. The groups range from electric and water utilities, railroads and construction materials to steel, copper, pipelines, data-center REITs and internet infrastructure.
The index takes the 100 largest qualifying companies by market value and gives each the same weight. As a result, no position was much above 2% as of June 30, 2026. The largest were Snowflake (1.8%), Bloom Energy (1.8%), Twilio (1.6%), MongoDB (1.4%) and Caterpillar (1.3%). The top 10 together made up about 14% of the fund. The internet-infrastructure group explains why cloud software firms sit beside utilities and machinery makers.
Every quarter the index is rebalanced, which resets each stock to an equal weight, and reconstituted, which adds and drops companies. The fund then makes the same trades. Portfolio turnover was 32%. The fund held no derivatives as of June 30, 2026. It is concentrated wherever the index is, which meant industrials and utilities as of December 31, 2025.
What it really costs
- RBLD charges 0.65% a year, versus an average of 0.26% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
In a retirement portfolio
It is a narrow, equal-weighted theme fund with a high fee and a small asset base, so it fits better as a modest slice next to broad core holdings.
RBLD could add exposure to utilities, industrial firms and the companies behind power and data networks. It has had rough stretches. According to its prospectus, it lost 21.06% in 2018 and 9.9% in 2022, and its worst quarter was a 29.16% drop in the first three months of 2020. Its price history starts in August 2022. In that period its deepest fall was 19.1%, from November 29, 2024 to April 8, 2025, and it recovered by July 3, 2025, about three months later. A retiree who had to cash out shares during a year like 2018 would have locked in losses. Income is small: the trailing yield was 1.02% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. The 0.65% expense ratio is well above the 0.26% average for similar funds. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want equal exposure to 100 US infrastructure companies, with no single holding much above 2% as of June 30, 2026.
- Those who want utilities, machinery, steel, power equipment and data-network companies together in one fund, rather than a utilities-only ETF.
- Investors who can sit through stock-market swings like the 21.06% loss in 2018 and the 29.16% drop in the first quarter of 2020.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-focused investors: the 0.65% expense ratio ranked last of nine similar funds. iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) charges 0.30%.
- Income seekers: the trailing yield was a modest 1.02% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly.
- Investors who prefer large funds: RBLD held about $40.5 million as of June 30, 2026, the smallest of the nine funds compared.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBLD this fund | — | 0.65% | $40.5M | +11.8% | +22.0% |
| IFRA iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF | 41% | 0.3% | $4.62B | +8.6% | +20.8% |
| TPHD Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock ETF | 34% | 0.52% | $350.5M | +14.5% | +16.6% |
| SPLV Invesco S&P 500® Low Volatility ETF | 32% | 0.25% | $7.09B | +6.2% | +11.8% |
| VOE Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF | 28% | 0.07% | $37.23B | +25.1% | +21.7% |
| IDU iShares U.S. Utilities ETF | 28% | 0.39% | $1.46B | -2.5% | +17.2% |
| FUTY Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF | 28% | 0.084% | $2.32B | -4.0% | +17.0% |
| VPU Vanguard Utilities ETF | 27% | 0.09% | $10.08B | -4.1% | +17.0% |
Questions investors ask
What stocks are in RBLD?
RBLD holds about 100 US-listed infrastructure companies in equal amounts. As of June 30, 2026, the largest were Snowflake (1.8%), Bloom Energy (1.8%), Twilio (1.6%), MongoDB (1.4%) and Caterpillar (1.3%). nVent Electric, Cloudflare, Comfort Systems USA, Rockwell Automation and Quanta Services completed the top 10, which made up about 14% of assets. Utilities and industrials were the largest sectors, at roughly 21% each of the holdings that had a sector label.
What's the difference between RBLD and IFRA?
Both are US infrastructure index funds, and about 41% of their holdings overlap, but RBLD costs more and is much smaller. RBLD's expense ratio is 0.65%, against 0.30% for the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA). As of June 30, 2026, RBLD had about $40.5 million in net assets and IFRA had roughly $4.6 billion. For the year through October 27, 2026, RBLD returned 11.8% and IFRA 8.6%. Over three years, the figures were 22% and 20.8% a year.
Does RBLD pay dividends?
Yes, RBLD pays distributions every quarter, but the income is small. Its trailing 12-month yield was 1.02% as of October 27, 2026, or about $0.87 per share over that period. The payout comes from dividends paid by the companies the fund owns, after its 0.65% expense ratio. The index picks stocks by size and industry, not by dividend, so a high yield isn't part of its design.
How has RBLD performed over 10 years?
According to its prospectus, RBLD returned an average of 7.29% a year over the 10 years ended December 31, 2025, and 10.39% a year over five years. Since its launch on October 13, 2008, the average was 7.22% a year. Returns were uneven: it gained 22.43% in 2017 but lost 21.06% in 2018 and 9.9% in 2022. It was up 14.6% for 2026 through October 27.
Is RBLD good for retirement?
RBLD may suit a small slice of a retirement portfolio, not the core of one. It is a single-theme stock fund that fell 29.16% in the first quarter of 2020 and lost 21.06% in 2018, according to its prospectus. Its yield was a modest 1.02% as of October 27, 2026. Its 0.65% expense ratio was the highest among nine similar funds, which averaged 0.26%. It may suit investors who already own broad, low-cost core funds.