Category Review
The large US oil-company fund returned 45% this year. A pipeline-and-power fund returned 13%.
First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund
$42.85+0.23 (+0.54%)
- 0.95%
- $4.1B
- +16.4%
- 2.88%
- 0.3M sh
- $42.33
- low $37.18high $45.23
The ETF.net EMLP Grade
C
Score 43 out of 100
- 14 of 25
Score 43 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.F0 out of 100Rank 25 of 25Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.D27 out of 100Rank 7 of 7Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A81 out of 100Rank 3 of 24Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B60 out of 100Rank 9 of 25Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A74 out of 100Rank 8 of 25Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A83 out of 100Rank 4 of 25
Our read on EMLP
CThe pipeline-and-utility fund that refused to turn itself into a C-corp. EMLP keeps direct MLP holdings under 25% of assets to stay a plain 1940 Act fund, then fills out the book with US and Canadian pipelines and regulated utilities, hand-picked since 2012.
The Fund seeks total return. Its strategy emphasizes current shareholder distributions and dividends while investing principally in energy infrastructure companies.
Why people hold it
- Staying RIC-eligible by capping direct MLP exposure below 25% means the fund itself is exempt from the corporate income tax that pure-play MLP funds carry.ftportfolios.com
- Regulated US and Canadian gas and electric utilities sit beside the pipelines, a different engine than the oil-major-heavy broad energy funds.sec.gov
- Sub-advised by Energy Income Partners, a Westport shop founded in 2003 around high-payout energy infrastructure. Running since 2012, pays quarterly.sec.gov
Worth knowing
- 0.95% a year is the bill for the active approach. Index-tracking peers in the group, XLE and FENY, charge 0.08%.
- About 60 names and non-diversified, tilted to pipelines and utilities, so its path can part ways with broad energy indexes.sec.gov
- There is no public index keeping score. Results are measured against a blended benchmark, so they ride on the manager's judgment.
EMLP Holdings
- Stocks
- 60
- 44%
- EPD
Sectors
- Utilities48.9%
- Energy46.5%
- Industrials4.0%
- Materials0.6%
Geography
- United States96.33%
- Canada3.06%
- Spain0.36%
- Italy0.24%
EMLP Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
EMLP$11,638
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | EMLP |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +15.0% |
| 1 month | −1.9% |
| 3 months | −1.9% |
| 1 year | +16.4% |
| 3 years | +21.1% |
| 5 years | +15.6% |
| 10 years | +9.6% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | EMLP |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +15.0% | |
| 2025 | +9.7% | |
| 2024 | +33.4% | |
| 2023 | +8.0% | |
| 2022 | +10.4% | |
| 2021 | +23.2% | |
| 2020 | −13.4% |
EMLP in the news
EMLP Dividends
- 2.88%
- $1.23
- $0.32 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
EMLP Risk
- 13.1%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 1.10
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −14.6%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.36
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
EMLP Cost
0.95%
EMLP0.95%
- The middle half of Energy (Broad) funds
- Median 0.46%
Every other Energy (Broad) fund charges less.
Other funds in Energy (Broad)
- CFCGFirst Trust Natural Gas ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return +40.2%
- CTSESTruth Social American Energy Security ETFExpense ratio 0.65%1 year return —
- CDRLLStrive U.S. Energy ETFExpense ratio 0.41%1 year return +61.6%
- CPIPEInvesco SteelPath MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETFExpense ratio 0.75%1 year return +32.6%
- CTRUNVanEck Energy TruSector ETFExpense ratio 0.16%1 year return —