Global X Uranium ETF retains its Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze. The portfolio maintains a sizable cost advantage over competitors, priced within the second-lowest fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy's sensible investment philosophy merits an Above Average Process Pillar rating. Independent of the rating, analysis of the strategy's portfolio shows it has maintained a significant underweight position in yield exposure and an overweight in volatility exposure compared with category peers. Low yield exposure is attributed to holding fewer stocks with high dividend or buyback yields -- instead, typically holding companies with a stronger focus on growth opposed to returning capital. And high volatility exposure is rooted in stocks that have a higher standard deviation of returns. The equity team managing this passive strategy earns a Low People Pillar rating. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Average Parent Pillar rating, and this rating is inherited from vehicles belonging to the same branding entity and is indirectly assigned by an analyst.

Analyst Rating

Cameco

NexGen Energy

Invesco FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-US Small-Mid ETF

Uranium Energy

Denison Mines

Seaspan

BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust

BHP Billiton

Energy Fuels

Encore Energy Corp

Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. Global X Uranium ETF earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating. The primary contributor to the rating is the fund's excellent long-term risk-adjusted performance. This can be seen in its five-year alpha calculated relative to the category average, which suggests that the process was successful over that period. This fund tracks an index, which also increases its process rating. Historical data, such as Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, shows that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. 

The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is:  The investment seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, and of the Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Total Return Index.  The fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in the securities of the underlying index and in American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") and Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs") based on the securities in the underlying index. The underlying index is designed to measure broad based equity market performance of global companies involved in the uranium industry. The fund is non-diversified. 

 The portfolio is overweight in energy and industrials relative to the category average by 42.1 and 8.5 percentage points, respectively. The sectors with low exposure compared to category peers are basic materials and utilities, underweight the average by 37.9 and 3.3 percentage points of assets, respectively. The strategy owns 52 securities and is quite concentrated. In particular, 62.7% of the strategy's assets are housed within the top 10 holdings, as opposed to the typical peer's 23.9%. And in closing, in terms of portfolio turnover, on a year-over-year basis, 20% of the fund's holdings have turned over, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

Above Average

Process

Global X’s equity team receives a Low People Pillar rating. The primary detractor from the rating is the parent firm's five-year success ratio of 30%. The measure indicates the percentage of a firm's funds that survived and outperformed their respective category's median return for the period. The parent's relatively low success ratio suggests that the firm could do better across its fund lineup. The parent firm's five-year retention rate of 67% also holds the team back. The experience of the management team, which averages four years at this fund, hinders the team as well.

People

Mirae Asset Global Investments is a Korean asset manager and a key player in the Asian financial market. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mirae Asset Financial Group, founded by Hyeon Joo Park. Park’s leadership and entrepreneurial spirit have been the driving force behind the global rise of Mirae, and he holds a majority stake in the business. 
Mirae Asset has grown significantly over the years (USD 198 billion as of December 2022) across a diversified platform, of which about 60% of assets are managed in South Korea. We believe that Mirae’s core mutual fund business in the Asia-Pac region is relatively strong. It has a collaborative structure, a strong and large investment team, low manager turnover, competitive fees, and a disciplined approach to product-development pointing toward better stewardship practices relative to peers in these markets. However, this is in stark contrast to its exchange-traded fund business, which accounts for 41% of the total assets. 
The firm’s ETF lineup focuses largely on high-risk thematic strategies that seem gimmicky, emphasizing short-term asset-gathering. The firm appears to leverage trending topics such as robotics and artificial intelligence, virtual reality and gaming, and cloud computing. There’s a notable concern regarding the potential liquidation of these funds since they seem to be designed around investment fads. Furthermore, these products are often expensive, especially compared with broadly diversified index funds and ETFs. Unsurprisingly, Mirae's reflexive product-development strategy has led to an increase in fund closures.
Our experience engaging with the MAGI team to gather critical information for the parent assessment has not been as positive. It hasn’t been as transparent in its disclosures, and unlike its peers, its responsiveness has been inadequate. We prefer firms with a more transparent corporate culture. Overall, these actions hold us back, and the firm retains its Parent Pillar rating of Average.

Average

Parent

Global X Uranium ETF

URA tracks a market-cap-weighted index of companies involved in uranium mining and the production of nuclear components.

After hitting a 12-year low in late 2016 uranium spot market prices have more than tripled from $30 a pound in January 2021 to a recent peak of over $100 a pound, their highest level in 16 years. Although they pulled back to $95 a pound the market is still ripe for additional gains.

Uranium Prices Have Tripled! 3 Must-Own Miners to Ride the Surge

ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF

Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust

ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

iShares MSCI Japan ETF

Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund

Franklin FTSE Japan ETF

iShares Bitcoin Trust

ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF

AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF

Hartford Multifactor International Small Company ETF

Yieldmax Tsla Option Income Etf

Sprott Uranium Miners ETF

Hello! This is MarketWatch reporter Isabel Wang bringing you this week's ETF Wrap. In this week's edition, we look at one of the currency-hedged Japan ETFs, which reached its all-time high on Thursday as the yen weakened after the Bank of Japan's historic interest-rate shift.

Investors push a Japanese ETF to fresh highs, seeking protection from a falling yen

The Global X Uranium ETF has seen a decline in its share price, presenting a buying opportunity. I back this bullish thesis by the increasing energy consumption from Nvidia's AI-enabling GPUs and Bitcoin mining, which in turn supports the demand for uranium. Also, nuclear power is a necessary energy source during the transition to clean energy, making URA a valuable investment.

URA ETF: Profit From AI And Bitcoin Through Uranium

Demand for Uranium is on the rise with the Nuclear Energy renaissance. The Global X Uranium ETF strikes a good balance of exposure to mining uranium, physical stocks, and related activities, providing potential for growth and diversification. The portfolio has a consensus upside of 38% to YE24 on a PEG of 0.7x.

URA: Is It Time To Buy?

Sprott Junior Uranium Miners ETF

Uranium Royalty Corp

Thanks to supply-demand issues, uranium prices are at 16-year highs. And they're not likely to come down any time soon, creating an opportunity for beaten-down uranium stocks.

7 Nuclear and Uranium Stocks to Power Up Your Portfolio

Global X MSCI China Health Care ETF

iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

KraneShares Global Carbon Offset Strategy ETF

Amplify US Alternative Harvest ETF

Wall Street wrapped up last week on a positive note, thanks to a combination of strong earnings reports from major tech companies and a better-than-expected jobs report.

5 Top-Performing ETFs of Last Week

Albemarle

Freeport-McMoRan

Global X Hydrogen ETF

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF

Plug Power

With the world fighting to go green, clean energy stocks are a safe long-term bet. For one, at the 2023 Conference of the Parties (COP28) meeting, 200 countries agreed to transition from fossil fuels, drafting text that would result in “tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030,” according to CNBC.

7 Stocks Benefiting from the Massive Shift to Clean Energy

ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector ETF

Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF

Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF

Calamos CEF Income & Arbitrage ETF

Invesco China Technology ETF

iShares China Large-Cap ETF

US Global Jets ETF

KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF

iShares MSCI China ETF

Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund

Invesco Solar ETF

United States Oil Fund LP

F/m 10-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

F/m 3-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

F/m 2-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

Hi! This week's ETF Wrap funds looks at China-focused funds that are struggling in 2024, with Clocktower's chief strategist Marko Papic providing his take on concerns tied to the country.

China-focused ETFs struggle amid fears of another regulatory ‘crackdown'

BWX Technologies

Duke Energy

A decade ago, it would have seemed implausible that even the best nuclear energy stocks would recover. After the Fukushima accident in Japan, nuclear power was low.

The 3 Best Nuclear Energy Stocks to Own for 2024

URA is a diversified basket of companies involved in uranium mining, production of nuclear components, extraction, refining, exploration, or manufacturing of equipment for the uranium and nuclear industries. Global supply of uranium is currently not meeting existing and future demand. URA is one of the best in its class as it offers a diversified portfolio, outside of just uranium miners.

URA: Betting On Uranium Demand When Global Supply Is In Peril

Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF

First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust

SPDR Gold Trust

VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

United States Natural Gas Fund LP

Hello! This is MarketWatch reporter Isabel Wang bringing you this week's ETF Wrap. The first-ever spot bitcoin ETFs started trading in the U.S. on Thursday in a landmark moment for Wall Street and beyond.

What history says about first-of-a-kind ETFs as bitcoin products debut

For investors seeking momentum, Global X Uranium ETF URA is probably on radar. The fund just hit a 52-week high and is up 65.4% from its 52-week low price of $18.31/share.

Uranium ETF (URA) Hits New 52-Week High

Constellation Energy Corp

VanEck Vectors Uranium+Nuclear Energy ETF

An essential component in sustainable and reliable energy generation, the surge in uranium prices and the deal reached by COP28, increasing exposure to the metal can benefit investors.

COP28 and Price Surge Power These Uranium ETFs

Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF

Bitwise Crypto Innovators ETF

Global X Blockchain & Bitcoin Strategy ETF

Global X Blockchain ETF

Bitwise Web3 ETF

Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF

VanEck Vectors Digital Transformation ETF

First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF

iShares Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF

TrueShares Technology, AI and Deep Learning ETF

Invesco Alerian Galaxy Crypto Economy ETF

VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF

Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF

iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF

Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF

SoFi Web 3 ETF

Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF

Wisdomtree Artificial Intelligence And Innovation Fund

The year is coming to a close, and many disruptive themes had a stellar year from an investment standpoint — some well-known and others under the radar. Here are a few of the top disruptive technology themes of 2023.

Disruptive Tech Theme of the Week: Top 5 Themes of 2023

The commodities market has been mixed in 2023. Some smaller commodities like orange juice, cocoa, sugar, and palm oil have surged to either an all-time or a multi-year high.

URA: Here's why Wall Street loves this Uranium ETF as prices surge

The Global X Uranium ETF offers exposure to 46 companies involved in the uranium mining and nuclear value chain. URA has a relatively lower volatility profile compared to its largest peer, but investors should be aware of the high valuations and lack of ample earnings growth. We touch upon various sub-plots that have raised the allure of investing in the uranium/nuclear space.

URA ETF: Wait For A Pullback To Participate In This Alluring Story

AI stocks have hogged the limelight, but another asset cluster has enjoyed a similar boom. Uranium and shares in companies that mine it have enjoyed a scorching rally on soaring demand. Nuclear energy is back in fashion as more reactors are planned amid a shift away from fossil fuels.

A blistering bull run is underway in the market for uranium

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

iShares Global Clean Energy ETF

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF

iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF

SPDR S&P North American Natural Resources ETF

iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF

Hello! This week's ETF Wrap digs into where investors put their money in October, and how November is shaping up in markets after the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.

Short-term bonds dominate fixed-income ETF flows again in October — with a single fund getting outsize portion of investors' money

Ur-Energy

Hedge funds are laying bets on uranium, a critical element in nuclear energy, Bloomberg reported. The price of uranium has swung up by 125% since the end of 2020.

Hedge funds are pouring money into uranium stocks as they bet on a nuclear-powered future

The clean energy segment is getting smoked this year as solar companies are warning of the collapse in installation demand. Companies like SolarEdge Technologies Inc. NASDAQ: SEDG and microinverter manufacturer Enphase Energy Inc. NASDAQ: ENPH recently slashed guidance, resulting in an additional 30% haircuts to their already weak stock prices.

2 Uranium Stocks to Make Your Portfolio Glow Green

Uranium prices have reached their highest level in more than a decade as a global supply shortage persists, with the bull market for uranium investments still in its “earliest days.”

Why uranium prices have climbed to their highest in over a decade

Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF

MicroSectors U.S. Big Banks Index -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN

United States Brent Oil Fund LP

iShares Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond ETF

Renaissance IPO ETF

Invesco KBW Bank ETF

iShares Interest Rate Hedged Corporate Bond ETF

Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF

Invesco Dynamic Oil & Gas Services ETF

Advocate Rising Rate Hedge ETF

These are the top ETF events in the month of September that could be under watch in October.

Uranium stocks are in a bull market that will last years, says Sprott Asset CEO

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF

iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Invesco QQQ

US Treasury 3 Month Bill Etf

Why the stock market has been resilient; T-Bills' tough competition and bright spots in oil and uranium. Rob Isbitts believes that increasing debt levels, including student debt and credit card debt, pose a risk to the economy.

The Stock Market Is Starting To Gradually Roll Over

Hello! This is MarketWatch reporter Isabel Wang bringing you this week's ETF Wrap. In this week's edition, we look at ETFs in the nuclear energy sector, which has emerged as one of the best performing ETF themes this year, driven by a notable surge in uranium prices.

Uranium prices are still ‘nowhere near the peak of the last cycle': Here's why nuclear energy ETFs could power your portfolio

News for Global X Uranium ETF ETF (URA)