AMLP vs XES

AMLPCAlerian MLP ETF

XESBState Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services 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.

XES Oilfield services without the two giants calling the shots. XES tracks a modified equal-weight index of about 30 drillers and equipment makers, so mid- and small-caps carry real weight, and it has been doing that since 2006 at 0.35%.

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.

XES The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services Select Industry 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.

• XES Modified equal weighting, reset each quarter, spreads the fund across roughly 30 drillers and equipment names rather than letting the sector's largest two dominate.ssga.comspglobal.com
• 0.35% a year, well under the median for its energy peer group and under PXJ's 0.67% in the same oil services niche.
• A clean services play: holdings come only from the oil and gas drilling and equipment and services sub-industries, not producers, refiners or pipelines.ssga.com
• Trading since 2006, through multiple drilling booms and busts, with distributions paid quarterly.

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

• XES About 30 stocks in one narrow, capex-driven industry, so moves tend to be sharper than a broad energy fund's.
• Equal weighting puts small and mid caps on the same footing as the majors, which cuts both ways on volatility.ssga.com
• A mid-sized fund with moderate trading rather than a category heavyweight, so execution costs matter more on larger orders.

Full AMLP profile⁠

Full XES profile⁠