You don’t have to pick stock winners to cash in on artificial intelligence: Here’s why

Unfortunately, the Australian share market doesn’t have an awful lot of exposure to the artificial intelligence megatrend.

But don’t worry, because investors wanting access to artificial intelligence stocks can still achieve their goal with relative ease thanks to exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

For example, listed below are a couple of ETFs that allow investors to buy many of the leading artificial intelligence stocks in one fell swoop. Here’s what you need to know about these ASX ETFs:

Betashares Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX: RBTZ)

The RBTZ ETF aims to track the performance of an index that includes global companies involved in the production or use of robotics and artificial intelligence products and services.

Betashares explains what the index looks for when investing:

The Index focuses on identifying the industries and sub-themes positively impacted by robotics and A.l. The Index includes companies involved in Industrial Robotics and Automation, Non-Industrial Robots, Artificial Intelligence and Unmanned Vehicles and Drones. To qualify for inclusion in the Index, a constituent must have a minimum market capitalisation of US$100 million.

The fund’s top five holdings include Nvidia, Intuitive Surgical, ABB, Keyence Corp, and Fanuc.

Global X Robo Global Robotics & Automation ETF (ASX: ROBO)

Another ASX ETF that allows you to gain exposure to a group of artificial intelligence stocks is the Global X Robo Global Robotics & Automation ETF.

The fund manager, Mirae Asset, highlights that the global robotics market is expected to grow materially in the coming years. It notes that the market was valued at more than US$23 billion in 2020 and is expected to nearly triple to US$74 billion by 2026.

And while robotics and automation may seem like something that is still way off, that isn’t the case. Especially with costs coming down markedly. The fund manager commented:

The average cost of an industrial robot declined from USD$46k in 2010 to just USD$27k in 2017 – and is forecasted to dip below USD$11k by 2025 as technology improves and scales, allowing for broader adoption across industries.

This bodes well for its top five holdings, which are Ocado, IPG Photonics, Intuitive Surgical, Rockwell Automation, and Azenta Inc.