ETF Seems More Utilities Than Infrastructure

One more sticking point is just how global GII will be. Most of an ETF's return usually can be attributed to its largest holdings (obviously, there are some exceptions). So one point I can't yet reconcile is that almost 40% of GII is invested in U.S. stocks, yet the U.S. is very under-represented in the top 10 holdings. My initial take on the fund was that it would act like a domestic fund, but based on the top 10 holdings, I'd say not.

This brings me to a conclusion that appears often in my columns: Give this new ETF some time to trade. GII will be a proxy for something; there's no need to correctly guess right now what that will be -- that is, to rush to invest.

On a related note: In addition to this fund, Macquarie has created infrastructure indices for Australia, Asia, different sectors and a few other resources, which could be interesting if they provide different access to similar themes captured by already existing products.

One index that I'd be interested to see an ETF for is Macquarie's water index. I am a big believer in the water theme, and while I have written about and own PowerShares Water(PHO), I have to think a better mousetrap could be out there somewhere.

I use MIC in most client portfolios, but would not hesitate to switch to another fund, such as GII, if it turned out to be a better product.

Infrastructure investing plays a specific role in a diversified portfolio, providing stability and usually yield. If, over time, a fund such as GII can do that without being as sensitive to interest rates as fixed-income products, or can fare better during a time of true stock market panic, all the better.

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Please note that due to factors including low market capitalization and/or insufficient public float, we consider SPDR/FTSE Macquarie Global Infrastructure 100 ETF, Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities Dividend and Income Fund, Macquarie Global Infrastructure Total Return Fund, iShares S&P Global Utilities Sector Index Fund, WisdomTree International Utilities Sector Fund to be small-cap stocks. You should be aware that such stocks are subject to more risk than stocks of larger companies, including greater volatility, lower liquidity and less publicly available information, and that postings such as this one can have an effect on their stock prices.

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