What Is GII? SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF

GII is the SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF, launched by State Street in January 2007. It tracks the S&P Global Infrastructure Index, a market-cap-weighted benchmark of about 75 of the largest publicly listed infrastructure companies drawn from both developed and emerging markets.

The index is built to balance three core groups: utilities, transportation, and energy infrastructure. That structure gives investors single-ticker exposure to essential-service businesses (power grids, toll roads, airports, and pipelines) that tend to generate steady, regulated, or contracted cash flows.

Approximate weights as of mid-2026; refresh quarterly from State Street Investment Management's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

GII holds roughly 75 companies. As of mid-2026 the top names include NextEra Energy at about 5.1%, Aena near 5.0%, Transurban around 4.9%, Enbridge close to 4.0%, and Iberdrola near 3.8%, followed by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, Williams, Auckland International Airport, Southern Co, and Duke Energy. The top ten represent roughly 39% of the fund.

The roster is deliberately global and cross-sector. US regulated utilities sit alongside Spanish airport and utility operators, an Australian toll-road group, a Mexican airport operator, and a New Zealand airport. This spread across countries and infrastructure types is what distinguishes GII from a US-only or utility-only fund.

The most common comparison is the iShares IGF, which tracks a similar S&P global infrastructure benchmark. IGF is far larger and more heavily traded, so it usually offers tighter spreads, while GII is a smaller SPDR alternative with a comparable fee near 0.40% and a similar utilities-transportation-energy mix.

The FlexShares NFRA takes a broader approach, using a STOXX index with a wider infrastructure definition and more holdings. GII stays closer to the classic three-sector split and is more concentrated. Choosing among them comes down to preferences on breadth, fund size, and how strictly you want the pure infrastructure definition applied.

As a global infrastructure fund, GII tends to behave differently from a broad equity index. Its utility and toll-road holdings provide steady income and can hold up in choppy markets, but the same rate-sensitive, bond-like cash flows mean the fund can lag when interest rates rise and benefit when they fall.

Long-term drivers for the sector include grid modernization, power demand growth, and ongoing investment in airports, roads, and pipelines worldwide. Those themes support the asset class over time, but GII remains concentrated in utilities and transportation, so its returns will hinge on those sectors and on the global rate environment rather than on broad market momentum.

GII may fit investors who want diversified global infrastructure exposure and income in a single holding, typically as a satellite position rather than a portfolio core. Its appeal rests on essential-service cash flows, geographic spread, and a long track record dating to 2007.

It is not the cheapest way to own equities, it concentrates in rate-sensitive sectors, and it is smaller than peers like IGF. Whether it suits you depends on your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. This is not investment advice, so review the holdings, fee, and your own situation before deciding.

GII trades on US exchanges like any stock, so you can buy it through brokers such as Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, or Public. Many of these support fractional shares, letting you start with a small dollar amount rather than a full share.

If you want to track GII as part of a thematic strategy, you can connect your brokerage to Walnut and hold it inside an infrastructure basket alongside related names. Walnut helps you monitor weights and performance; the actual trade is always placed and settled at your own broker.

ETFs are passive bundles; thematic baskets in Walnut let you concentrate within them. If you hold GII as a core position, these are the themes you might layer on as satellites.

GII gives global infrastructure exposure (utilities, toll roads, airports, pipelines) in one ticker at about 0.40%. That fee sits above the larger iShares IGF, and GII carries less in assets. It fits as a satellite holding for income and diversification rather than a low-cost core. Not investment advice.

Whether GII is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is GII a buy?

GII yields ~3.2% as of mid-2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see GII dividend: yield and schedule.