This is a thematic ETF that tracks the Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index. It holds small- and mid-cap industrial companies and regional community banks that are expected to benefit from the return of manufacturing to the U.S. and the flow of infrastructure investment.

It suits investors who want to concentrate on U.S. manufacturing reshoring and infrastructure themes.

It is a passively managed (index-tracking) ETF run by First Trust.

The fund tracks U.S.-based small- and mid-cap industrial companies and regional community banks, which are included according to the index rules. Instead of broad market exposure, it concentrates on the specific themes of manufacturing's return and infrastructure expansion, and its holdings are adjusted through the index's regular rebalancing.

• Concentrated exposure to U.S. reshoring and infrastructure themes
• A distinctive mix that holds both industrials and regional banks

Assets under management (AUM) stand at $8.5B, and the total expense ratio is 0.69% per year.

Compared with XLI, a broad industrial ETF, it has larger weightings in small- and mid-cap stocks and regional banks, giving it a clearly thematic character, and its fee level is somewhat higher.

It tends to show relatively strong momentum when expectations for U.S. manufacturing's return and infrastructure investment come to the fore, and because it holds small- and mid-cap stocks, it tends to swing widely during periods of market volatility. Returns fluctuate with thematic momentum.

Investor interest in thematic ETFs tends to rise when expectations for reshoring and infrastructure policy strengthen. Conversely, when worries about an economic slowdown grow, fund flows may weaken because of the fund's weighting in cyclical industrials and regional banks.

Its strength is clear exposure to the U.S. reshoring theme, while its weakness is the volatility that comes from its concentration in small- and mid-cap stocks and a narrow set of sectors.

Among the funds in the table, XLI is a lower-cost, broad core ETF covering the entire U.S. industrial sector, ITA and XAR specialize in aerospace and defense, and IYT specializes in transportation, so their exposure differs from the small- and mid-cap industrial and regional bank theme concentration of AIRR. To target the infrastructure theme more directly, investors can also consider PAVE, which focuses on U.S. infrastructure construction, FXR, which has a similar approach, and VIS and IYJ, which offer broad industrial exposure.

Here are the points to review before investing in AIRR. Because it is an ETF concentrated in a specific theme, it is wise to check the nature of its exposure, its costs, and its small- and mid-cap volatility in advance, and it helps to be clear about the role it will play in your portfolio.

The concentration in industrials and regional banks, along with the small- and mid-cap weighting, is the main driver of short-term volatility. In an economic slowdown or a shift in the interest rate environment, these sectors can be shaken together, so the diversification benefit is limited.

It is a thematic ETF suited to investors who want to make a concentrated bet on the return of U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure themes. If broad diversification or low cost is the priority, core industrial ETFs such as XLI and VIS are a better fit.