Two robotics and automation ETFs–if you’d prefer that route to buying Fanuc and Nidec in my 50 Stocks Portfolio

December 1, 2017 | Daily JAM, You Might Have Missed | 0 comments

Back on July 11 I argued that for investors at least it was better to buy robotics stocks than to try to fight the global trend toward automation. I added two robotics stocks, both Japanese companies, to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio that day. Since then Fanuc (FANUY) is up 27.92% and Nidec (NJDCY) is ahead 34.23%. Now one of the reasons that I prefer individual stocks to ETFs in the robotics sector is that I want to take advantage of not just the growth in robotics and automation, but also want to get the benefit of a falling yen, which increases sales for Japanese automation companies. But the evidence is that a lot of investors want to own a piece of the sector but would be prefer to use an ETF to give them broad exposure to the sector. Launched in 2013, Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF (ROBO) how has nearly $2 billion in assets under management. Global X Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Thematic (BOTZ) moved above $1 billion in assets back in August.