Profit from rising infrastructure spending

Article Excerpt

Governments around the world know the benefits that flow from the development of better infrastructure. However, their stretched budgets and a reluctance to increase taxes constrain their ability to initiate these projects. This provides opportunities for private companies to develop and manage these assets. Here are three ETFs that invest in publicly listed companies that own and operate infrastructure assets (see the supplement on page 20 for more information). FLEXSHARES STOXX GLOBAL BROAD INFRASTRUCTURE ETF $45.49 (New York symbol NFRA; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $791.0 million) tracks the Stoxx Global Broad Infrastructure Index. To qualify for inclusion, companies must derive most of their revenue from the infrastructure business and meet certain size and liquidity requirements. Stocks are included based on their market capitalizations, although individual stock weightings are capped at 5%. The ETF invests globally, with its largest holdings in the U.S. (40.0%), Canada (14.0%), Japan (11.5%), U.K. (5.2%), Spain (5.1%), Australia (4.9%) and Italy (4.1%). The main segment allocations are Energy infrastructure…