COAL vs MLPX

COALFRange Global Coal Index ETF

MLPXBGlobal X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF

In short

COAL Coal, and only coal. Most energy ETFs blend oil, gas and pipelines; this 2024 launch tracks a global coal index instead, giving the fuel its own line item.

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

COAL The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Range Global Coal Index.

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

• COAL A pure play: it tracks the Range Global Coal Index rather than diluting the theme with oil, gas and midstream names the way most energy sector funds do.
• Rules over hunches. It is an index-tracking stock fund in a standard 1940 Act wrapper, so what it owns follows a published methodology.
• The mandate is global, not US-only, so the coal exposure is not tied to a single country's producers.

• 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

• COAL The 0.85% fee sits at the back of the energy ETF pack, above cheaper neighbors like XES (0.35%) and MLPX (0.45%).
• One industry, one commodity. Coal equities can swing harder than diversified energy funds, with no oil or pipeline ballast to soften the ride.
• Young and small: launched in 2024 with a modest asset base, and it distributes once or twice a year rather than quarterly.

• 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 COAL profile⁠

Full MLPX profile⁠