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Launched · SEC filings

Virtus Duff & Phelps Clean Energy ETF

VCLNNYSE ArcaVirtusC

$25.36+0.58 (+2.35%)

As of Nov 2, 2026, 3:56 PM ET

C46/ 100

Rank 9 of 16 in Clean Energy

C46/100Rank 9 of 16inClean Energy
Intraday session: up, 72 prints from 24.77 to 25.36. Range 24.77 to 25.55. Use the arrow keys to read each point.25.0025.2010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.59%*
Fund size
$5M
1Y total return
−1.8%
Yield · Last 12 months
2.15%
Holdings
46
Avg volume · 30D
534 sh
52W range
low $23.23high $37.55
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

*After a fee waiver that ends Nov 28, 2026. Without it: 0.66%.

The ETF.net VCLN Grade

Based on 5 of 6 pillars

C

Score 46 out of 100

Category
Clean Energy⁠
Rank
9 of 16
Six-pillar profile for VCLN. Scores out of 100: Cost 50, Risk 76, Mission not scored, Tradability 3, Holdings 72, Durability 22. Strongest: Risk (76). Weakest: Tradability (3). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.

Score 46 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.
    C50 out of 100
    Rank 8 of 16

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    Not scored

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    A76 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 16

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    F3 out of 100
    Rank 16 of 16

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    A72 out of 100
    Rank 5 of 16

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    F22 out of 100
    Rank 15 of 16

Our read on VCLN

ETF.net Research

In short

CMost clean energy ETFs just follow an index. VCLN doesn't: it's an active stock-picker in the space, with a mandate pointed at Europe and the US, priced right at what the average rival in the category charges.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks capital appreciation and is actively managed rather than designed to replicate a specified securities index.

Why people hold it

  • Active by design: the prospectus says it seeks capital appreciation rather than replicating an index, so the manager can skip names a benchmark would have to own.
  • You pay the going rate for that active mandate: 0.59% a year, level with the median clean energy ETF.
  • The mandate points at Europe and the US, so exposure leans developed-market clean energy instead of a global sweep.
  • Held wide, not concentrated: well over a hundred positions, so no single broken story dominates the basket.

Worth knowing

  • Thinly traded with a small asset base, so spreads can run wide and a big order can push the price around.
  • Index rivals ICLN and FRNW charge 0.39%. The active mandate here costs more every year, whatever the manager does with it.
  • No index to check it against, and cash comes back once or twice a year rather than monthly.

VCLN Performance

Launched Aug 3, 2021

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

Not enough history yet.
VCLN$9,818
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. VCLN $9,818. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$12,000$14,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 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.

Trailing total return for VCLN. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodVCLN
Year to date−2.6%
1 month−8.3%
3 months−10.0%
1 year−1.8%
3 yearsper year+18.2%
5 yearsper year−1.5%
10 yearsFund is under 10 years oldper yearNo data

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for VCLN
YearReturn barVCLN
2026 YTD−2.6%
2025+55.7%
2024−6.7%
2023−17.5%
2022−7.9%
2021−5.0%

History from Aug 4, 2021

VCLN in the news

VCLN Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Oct 30, 2026.
2.15%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.53Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.21 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Twice a year

Distribution history

2022–2026

One bar per payment. 9 payments from 2022 to 2026 YTD. Jun 21, 2022 $0.11; Dec 20, 2022 $0.03; Jun 20, 2023 $0.12; Dec 20, 2023 $0.08; Jun 20, 2024 $0.11; Dec 20, 2024 $0.09; Jun 20, 2025 $0.19; Dec 22, 2025 $0.33; Jun 22, 2026 $0.21. Use the arrow keys to read each point.20222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Jun 22, 2026Jun 29, 2026$0.21
Dec 22, 2025Dec 29, 2025$0.33
Jun 20, 2025Jun 27, 2025$0.19
Dec 20, 2024Dec 27, 2024$0.09
Jun 20, 2024Jun 27, 2024$0.11
Dec 20, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.08
Jun 20, 2023Jun 28, 2023$0.12
Dec 20, 2022Dec 29, 2022$0.03
Jun 21, 2022Jun 29, 2022$0.11

$10,000 in VCLN 5 years ago paid $467 in dividends.

VCLN Risk

Risk pillarA76 out of 100Rank 3 of 16 in Clean Energy
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
25.4%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
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.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.61
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
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.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−45.7%
Trough Apr 2025
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.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
1.42
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

VCLN Cost

Compare VCLN and ICLN

Overpaying vs ICLN, cheapest in Clean Energy

$3,929

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • VCLN 0.59%

    $11,635

  • ICLN 0.38% Cheapest

    $7,706

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • VCLN 0.59%
  • ICLN 0.38%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$2.5K$5K$7.5K$10K$12.5K051015202530VCLN $11,635ICLN $7,706

Year by year

YearVCLNICLNOverpaying
10$1,058$688$370
20$4,051$2,658$1,393
30$11,635$7,706$3,929
How the 0.59% is worked out

Full fee 0.66%− waiver 0.07%= you pay 0.59%

The waiver ends Nov 28, 2026. After that the fee is 0.66% unless Virtus renews it. Source: prospectus, Nov 2025.

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