WisdomTree Investments has announced in a press release the launch of its newest ETF, the WisdomTree Battery Value Chain and Innovation Fund (WBAT), which began trading today on the CBOE. The fund offers a targeted approach to investing in companies that are developing battery technologies as well as those that are working to find energy storage solutions in a world transitioning to renewable energy use.
“As the world shifts towards renewable energy, due to environmental and technological drivers, we expect a growing demand for electric vehicles and the batteries central to their development,” said Jeremy Schwartz, global chief investment officer at WisdomTree, in the press release. “The WisdomTree Battery Value Chain and Innovation Fund (WBAT) was built for investors looking to gain exposure to battery technologies and the megatrend of energy transformation.”
WBAT seeks to track the WisdomTree Battery Value Chain and Innovation Index, an index that focuses on several categories within the energy storage and battery value chain. These include companies working with raw materials related to batteries; manufacturing of batteries and components; emerging technologies related to battery storage and new applications for battery and energy storage solutions; companies that are enabling battery development or provide technology and products that complement the same; and companies that are innovative within the space.
The index defines companies that fall under the classification of innovation as companies that bring to market a creative, new, or different service or technologically enabled product that can change an industry, as well as the companies that are enabling those innovative technologies, according to the prospectus.
WBAT invests globally and across industries as it seeks to capture the evolution of energy storage and battery technology moving forward by investing in companies it believes provide the best growth potential. This ETF is a thematic fund that is tilted towards the battery value chain and as such can be highly concentrated within specific sectors.
At launch, sector allocations include materials at 38.11%, industrials at 36.75%, information technology at 15.55%, and several smaller allocations.
WBAT carries an expense ratio of 0.45%.
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