DBE vs UNL

DBEBInvesco DB Energy Fund

UNLFUnited States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP

In short

DBE Most energy ETFs buy the companies. DBE buys the barrels: a basket of energy futures tracking an Invesco commodity index, running since 2007.

UNL Natural gas without the front-month tunnel vision. Since 2009, UNL has tracked an equally weighted ladder of 12 consecutive NYMEX gas futures, spreading the roll across a year instead of riding the next contract alone.

Stated mandate

DBE The fund seeks to follow both increases and decreases in the DBIQ Optimum Yield Energy Index Excess Return.

UNL UNL seeks to reflect changes in the spot price of natural gas delivered at Henry Hub, Louisiana, using an equally weighted average of 12 consecutive natural-gas futures contracts, plus collateral interest and less expenses.

Why people hold it

• DBE Holds energy futures tracking the DBIQ Optimum Yield Energy Index Excess Return, so it follows fuel prices themselves rather than oil-company earnings, buybacks or balance sheets.invesco.com
• Live since 2007, which puts multiple full commodity cycles behind it. That kind of run time is uncommon among futures-based funds.
• At 0.79% it sits right at the median for its energy peer group, and the fund handles the futures contracts, rolls and collateral you would otherwise manage yourself.

• UNL The ladder is the point: 12 consecutive monthly contracts, equally weighted, so roughly a twelfth of the book rolls at a time instead of the whole position every month.sec.gov
• The target is unambiguous: the spot price of natural gas at Henry Hub, Louisiana, measured through those 12 futures. Passive and rules-based, with no manager calls on gas.sec.gov
• Trading since 2009 through several gas cycles, and USCF runs the same 12-month ladder on the oil side (USL), so the structure is well worn rather than experimental.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• DBE It is structured as a partnership, so tax time brings a Schedule K-1 instead of the usual 1099. Worth knowing before one shows up in the mail.invesco.com
• Futures plumbing costs more than owning stocks. Equity-based energy peers like XES (0.35%) and MLPX (0.45%) charge well under half of DBE's 0.79%.
• A single-commodity-complex bet that follows energy futures both up and down, with no company dividends underneath. Our overall read places it in the lower half of its energy cohort.

• UNL The fee runs 1.65% a year, the high end for energy futures pools, and this is a small fund next to front-month names in the group like OILK and USO.
• A commodity pool limited partnership, not a 1940 Act fund, so tax time brings a Schedule K-1 instead of a 1099.uscfinvestments.com
• The ladder cuts both ways: spreading across a year softens roll costs and also softens how much a sharp move in front-month gas shows up in the fund.sec.gov

Full DBE profile⁠

Full UNL profile⁠