ACES vs FRNW

ACESCALPS Clean Energy ETF

FRNWAFidelity Clean Energy ETF

In short

ACES Most clean energy funds cast a global net. This one stays on the continent: a passive, roughly 40-stock index of U.S. and Canadian renewables and clean tech, running since 2018.

FRNW Fidelity wrote its own clean energy index, then priced the fund at 0.39% a year, matching the category's cheapest heavyweights and undercutting most rivals. Roughly 60 global stocks: solar, wind, and the grid gear behind them.

Stated mandate

ACES ACES seeks to track the CIBC Atlas Clean Energy Index before fees and expenses. It uses passive indexing to provide exposure to U.S. and Canadian companies involved in renewables and clean technology.

FRNW The fund seeks returns that generally track the Fidelity Clean Energy Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• ACES North America only. The index holds U.S. and Canadian renewables and clean-tech names, so no Europe or Asia exposure sneaks in through the back door.alpsfunds.com
• Fee sits below the median for clean energy ETFs at 0.55%, and undercuts narrower plays like FAN (0.61%).
• Straightforward plumbing: a passive fund tracking the CIBC Atlas Clean Energy Index, live since 2018, with quarterly distributions.

• FRNW 0.39% a year ties the low-cost leader of the group (ICLN) and comes in under CNRG at 0.45% and FAN at 0.61%. In a theme where fees often run higher, that is real money kept.
• Global by mandate, not US-only. The index reaches clean energy companies worldwide, so the fund follows the industry rather than one country's subsidy calendar.
• A plain index fund, not a stock-picking bet: it aims to track the Fidelity Clean Energy Index before fees, so what you own is spelled out in the methodology.
• One of the stronger builds in a crowded clean energy shelf on our review, with the low fee and a spread-out portfolio doing the heavy lifting. Pays quarterly.

Worth knowing

• ACES Roughly 40 stocks in one policy-sensitive theme. Concentration cuts both ways, and this has been one of the more volatile profiles in its clean energy peer group.
• Cheaper doors into the theme exist: ICLN and FRNW both charge 0.39%, though both track global rather than North America indexes.
• Moderately traded rather than a category heavyweight, so bid-ask spreads matter more here than in the most-traded clean energy funds.

• FRNW One theme, one industry. Clean energy names swing with interest rates, policy shifts, and equipment prices, so the ride is far choppier than a broad market fund.
• Roughly 60 stocks. That is focused enough that a handful of names and a couple of countries carry real weight in the outcome.
• Not one of the giants. A mid-size asset base and moderate trading activity can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the category's most heavily traded funds.

Full ACES profile⁠

Full FRNW profile⁠