BlackRock is going deeper into the hard hat area of the ETF market. The giant asset manager debuted its first-ever actively managed infrastructure ETF, the iShares Infrastructure Active ETF (NYSE:BILT), on Thursday, a move that highlights the increasing popularity of infrastructure as a long-term growth vehicle.

For many decades, infrastructure investing was the investment equivalent of eating your vegetables, not thrilling but good for you. But with increasing global energy transitions, AI-hungry infrastructure that demands data and reconfigured supply chains, investors are now looking at infrastructure with fresh enthusiasm. BlackRock’s new ETF seeks to provide investors with diversified and agile exposure to this high-potential space.

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How BILT’s Engine Is Built

The ETF includes 50 to 60 listed global infrastructure names, ranging from transport terminals to energy storage, utilities and building legends. Instead of passively following broad indexes, BILT employs an active strategy. The expense ratio of the ETF is 0.60%, and it tracks the FTSE Developed Core Infrastructure 50/50 Net TR Index.

The launch occurs as global infrastructure spending is expected to reach $68 trillion by 2040, driven by megatrends such as digitalization, energy independence, and supply chain reorganisation.

BILT complements BlackRock’s current $10 billion infrastructure ETF line-up consisting of:

• iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (NASDAQ:IGF)
• iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (BATS:IFRA)
• iShares U.S. Digital Infrastructure and Real Estate ETF (NYSE:IDGT)

Simultaneously, BlackRock’s larger infrastructure business, Global Infrastructure Partners, oversees approximately $183 billion across 300-plus investments in more than 100 nations.

While infrastructure businesses tend to go unnoticed within global indexes, Morrison said that it’s precisely this under-allocation that makes BILT so strong. The ETF offers access to an asset class that has historically been less volatile than global equities, but without giving up growth opportunity.

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