DRLL vs ENFR

DRLLCStrive U.S. Energy ETF

ENFRBAlerian Energy Infrastructure ETF

In short

DRLL A challenger take on US energy: roughly 40 US-listed energy stocks in one 2022-vintage fund, priced just under the typical energy ETF but well above the index giants it lines up against.

ENFR Midstream, not drillers. ENFR owns the pipelines, storage tanks and processing plants that move North American energy, tracking the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index in a compact portfolio of roughly two dozen names.

Stated mandate

DRLL The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index made up of U.S.-listed equities in the energy sector.

ENFR ENFR seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index. It also seeks total return through income and capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• DRLL Straight-ahead mandate: US-listed energy equities against a named capped energy index, and the portfolio has hugged that mandate rather than drifting into adjacent sectors.
• At 0.41%, it prices under the 0.45% median for energy sector funds.
• About 40 US-listed names keeps it a concentrated energy portfolio, not a diluted global sleeve.
• Distributions run on a quarterly schedule.

• ENFR Charges 0.35%, under the 0.45% median for broad energy ETFs and below iShares' IYE at 0.38%.
• Different engine than most energy funds: infrastructure operators rather than the explorers and refiners whose fortunes swing with the barrel price.alpsfunds.com
• Income is written into the mandate: the fund seeks total return through income and capital appreciation, and distributions come on a quarterly schedule.
• Trading since 2013 and rated among the stronger names in our broad energy peer group.

Worth knowing

• DRLL The fee gap is the trade-off: XLE and FENY charge 0.08% and VDE 0.09% for broad US energy, a fraction of DRLL's 0.41%.
• Thinly traded next to the category's giants, so spreads and limit orders carry more weight, especially on bigger tickets.
• One sector, one country. It rides the oil and gas cycle with no bonds or foreign names in the mix to soften the ride.

• ENFR Around 26 holdings in one slice of one sector. Single-name news and midstream-specific swings land harder here than in a diversified energy fund.
• The broad energy giants (XLE, FENY, VDE) all sit under 0.10%. Specialist indexing costs more.
• Moderately traded rather than a volume heavyweight, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the largest energy ETFs.

Full DRLL profile⁠

Full ENFR profile⁠