ACES vs IBAT

ACESCALPS Clean Energy ETF

IBATBiShares Energy Storage & Materials 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.

IBAT Most EV funds buy carmakers. IBAT drops a layer down the supply chain to the batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells and storage materials underneath, tracking a global STOXX index at a fee that undercuts much of its thematic peer group.

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.

IBAT The fund seeks to track an index of global companies involved in battery technologies, hydrogen, fuel cells, and other energy-storage solutions. It provides targeted exposure to companies supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

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.

• IBAT 0.47% a year, cheaper than Global X's DRIV (0.68%) and Amplify's BATT (0.59%).
• Buys the storage layer, not the showroom: battery technology, hydrogen, fuel cells and the materials that feed them.ishares.com
• Global mandate, roughly 80 holdings: miners, chemical firms and equipment makers a US large-cap index never touches.
• Sits in the upper tier of its battery and EV thematic group on our review.

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.

• IBAT One theme, one supply chain. Battery and materials demand drives the whole basket in the same direction at the same time.
• BlackRock applies business involvement screens, so the portfolio is a filtered slice of the industry rather than the full map.ishares.com
• Launched in 2024, so the record is short and payouts come once or twice a year at most. Not an income holding.

Full ACES profile⁠

Full IBAT profile⁠