Inside a $7.5 Million ETF Bet on Smart Grid Stocks That Has Topped the S&P 500 by 14 Points

On Wednesday, Crumly & Associates Inc. disclosed a new position in the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID), acquiring 49,139 shares in an estimated $7.52 million trade based on quarterly average pricing.

What happened

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing released Wednesday, Crumly & Associates Inc. reported a new position in the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID), acquiring 49,139 shares during the quarter. The estimated transaction value was $7.52 million based on the average closing price over the filing period.

What else to know

The new position represents 1.6% of the fund's reportable AUM after the trade.

Top holdings following the filing:

• NYSEMKT: JGRO: $26.68 million (5.6% of AUM)
• NASDAQ: RDVY: $23.53 million (4.9% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT: DSTL: $21.59 million (4.5% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT: HEFA: $18.81 million (3.9% of AUM)
• NASDAQ: SDVY: $18.27 million (3.8% of AUM)

As of Wednesday, GRID shares were priced at $156.56, up 33.7% over the past year and well outperforming the S&P 500 by 14.4 percentage points.

ETF overview

ETF snapshot

• GRID's investment strategy focuses on tracking the NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index, targeting companies engaged in smart grid, electric meters, energy storage, and related technologies.
• Underlying holdings primarily consist of equities and depositary receipts of companies involved in electric grid infrastructure, energy management, and enabling software, with a non-diversified portfolio structure.
• The fund is structured as an exchange-traded fund.

The First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund provides targeted exposure to the smart grid and energy infrastructure sector through a rules-based, index-tracking approach. The fund's strategy leverages sector growth by investing in companies enabling the modernization of electric grids and energy management systems. GRID offers institutional investors access to a niche thematic portfolio with a strong one-year return and consistent dividend yield.

What this transaction means for investors

Crumly & Associates’ move might be signaling a longer-duration view that electrification, energy reliability, and grid modernization are capital priorities that stretch across economic cycles. And for its part, the smart grid theme has delivered. GRID climbed nearly 34% over the past year, beating the S&P 500 by more than 14 percentage points, thanks to its positions in companies tied to transmission, automation, and power management rather than pure renewables hype. Its underlying holdings lean toward industrial and utility adjacent names like ABB, Schneider Electric, and Eaton, all top five holdings and businesses that monetize multi-year capital spending rather than subsidy cycles. Total net assets now exceed $5.6 billion, signaling growing institutional acceptance of the theme.

As for Crumly, its largest positions are diversified growth and quality ETFs such as JGRO, RDVY, and DSTL, all strategies built around profitability and balance-sheet discipline. Against that backdrop, smart grid exposure complements rather than replaces the core and certainly seems like an interesting opportunity for long-term investors.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.