CGW vs PIO

CGWCInvesco S&P Global Water Index ETF

PIODInvesco Global Water ETF

In short

CGW Water treated as a global trade, not a US one. CGW has tracked the S&P Global Water Index since 2007, holding roughly 70 developed-market names across the utilities and equipment makers that keep water moving.

PIO Invesco's passport-carrying water fund: about 40 companies pulled from a Nasdaq global water index, running since 2007. The overseas counterpart to the US-focused water ETFs sitting next to it on Invesco's shelf.

Stated mandate

CGW The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the investment results of the S&P Global Water Index.

PIO The fund seeks to track the performance of the Nasdaq OMX Global Water Index before fees and expenses and generally invests at least 90% of its assets in securities represented by that index.

Why people hold it

• CGW Launched in 2007, so it has carried the water theme through a full cycle of thematic booms and busts, and has grown into one of the larger funds in a small category.
• Global by design: the mandate spans developed markets worldwide rather than US-listed water plays only, and it follows the S&P Global Water Index instead of a manager's hunches.
• The basket does what the label says: roughly 70 water names, no unrelated filler. One of the tighter mandate fits among water funds.

• PIO A genuinely global mandate. It tracks the Nasdaq OMX Global Water Index and keeps at least 90% of assets in that index's names, so the water story isn't limited to US utilities and pipe makers.invesco.com
• Launched in 2007, back when water was a fringe theme. It has run through multiple market cycles rather than arriving with the latest thematic wave.
• Rules-based and compact: roughly 40 holdings chosen by the index, not by a manager's conviction, with distributions paid quarterly.

Worth knowing

• CGW The 0.58% fee sits right at the water group's median. TBLU charges 0.40% and FIW 0.50%, so cheaper routes into the theme exist.
• Trades thinly next to broad-market ETFs, so spreads can widen, especially early and late in the session. Limit orders are the standard tool.
• One theme, about 70 stocks: results can wander a long way from a broad global index in either direction. Cash also arrives once or twice a year, not monthly.

• PIO At 0.75%, it charges more than the typical water fund. Invesco's own CGW runs 0.58% and First Trust's FIW 0.50%, both chasing similar plumbing.
• Thinly traded compared with the bigger names in the category, which tends to mean wider spreads at the moment you actually transact.
• About 40 stocks spread across global markets: individual names carry real weight, and foreign-listed holdings bring currency movement along for the ride.

Full CGW profile⁠

Full PIO profile⁠