Amundi has launched two new thematic ETFs which will look to provide investors with opportunities during periods of significant change initiated by rapid urbanisation and manufacturing innovations. 

The Amundi Smart City UCITS ETF and the Amundi Smart Factory UCITS ETF will cover both developed and emerging markets, and utilise a multi-sector approach that combines several thematic exposures. The ETFs will track indices from Solactive and will be listed on Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam with the same competitive ongoing charges of 0.35 percent.

The smart city fund has been created to benefit from the rapid urbanisation forecast in the future. It is expected to result in two-thirds of the global population living in urban areas by 2050. New ‘smart’ technologies will help cities address the challenges of urbanisation by increasing efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. To ensure investors can access the potential offered the development of cities, Amundi has identified 208 stocks from six key sectors to underpin its Smart City ETF. The sectors included in the stock selection process are public infrastructure, smart homes, e-commerce, healthcare, entertainment, and technology.

The smart factory ETF has been created after Amundi noticed that disruptive technologies have given rise to a new type of smart factory which is influencing manufacturing. Consequently it has identified five key sectors to help investors benefit from this trend. It has a portfolio of 252 stocks from companies involved in advanced robotics, cloud computing and big data, cyber security, augmented reality and 3D printing, and the internet of things.

Fannie Wurtz, head of Amundi ETF, Indexing and Smart Beta, said: “Innovation is in our DNA, and we are always looking for new opportunities for investors. With our Artificial Intelligence ETF, and now these new Smart City and Smart Factory ETFs, we can help investors to capitalise on three of the major themes that are shaping our future.”