AMLP vs MLPX

AMLPCAlerian MLP ETF

MLPXBGlobal X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF

In short

AMLP The original MLP ETF: launched in 2010, a portfolio built on midstream energy partnerships rather than a watered-down version, with the fund absorbing the K-1 paperwork and the fund-level taxes that come with it.

MLPX A focused bet on the toll roads of American energy: roughly 30 pipeline and infrastructure names tracking the Solactive MLP & Energy Infrastructure Index, running since 2013 at 0.45% a year.

Stated mandate

AMLP The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index, which provides exposure to energy-infrastructure MLPs primarily engaged in midstream activities.

MLPX The fund seeks to provide investment results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the price and yield performance of the Solactive MLP & Energy Infrastructure Index.

Why people hold it

• AMLP The original. Launched in 2010 as the first ETF to open up master limited partnerships, and it still tracks the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index it debuted with.prnewswire.comalpsfunds.com
• No K-1 pile in your mailbox. The fund receives and processes the partnership K-1s itself and sends shareholders a single Form 1099.alpsfunds.com
• Undiluted exposure. Most MLP funds cap partnerships near 25% to keep pass-through tax status (MLPX takes that route); AMLP's index stays with midstream MLPs.sec.govalpsfunds.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and distributes quarterly, so getting in and out is usually the easy part.

• MLPX 0.45% a year, against a peer-group median near 0.79% for energy sector ETFs. Cheap shelf space for a narrow corner of the market.
• Concentrated on purpose: around 30 pipeline and energy infrastructure names via the Solactive MLP & Energy Infrastructure Index, so the midstream theme isn't watered down.
• Trading since 2013 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund with steady volume, which tends to keep spreads manageable on retail-size orders.
• Distributions land on a quarterly schedule, so the payout rhythm is predictable even as the amounts move with the underlying cash flows.

Worth knowing

• AMLP Pricey for the aisle: a 1.01% expense ratio sits above the energy-sector median, and cheaper midstream wrappers exist (MLPX at 0.45%).
• Taxed as a C-corp, not a pass-through. It accrues deferred taxes on appreciation and return-of-capital distributions inside NAV, and revises those estimates as MLP tax data arrives.alpsfunds.comsec.gov
• Narrow by design: a capped, float-adjusted basket of energy-infrastructure partnerships earning most cash flow from midstream work, so it moves with one corner of energy.alpsfunds.com

• MLPX One sector, one theme. Energy infrastructure rides commodity cycles and rate moves, so it can travel well out of step with a broad market fund.
• With around 30 holdings, individual pipeline operators carry real weight and one company's news can move the whole fund.
• Not the cheapest ticket in the cohort: XES charges 0.35%, though it buys oil services companies rather than midstream infrastructure.

Full AMLP profile⁠

Full MLPX profile⁠