ELFY vs GRID

ELFYBALPS Electrification Infrastructure ETF

GRIDBFirst Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

In short

ELFY Cap-weighted theme funds let one winner run the show. ELFY equal-weights roughly 80 US generation, transmission, distribution and smart-grid names, so the grid-gear companies stay the story. Live since 2025 at 0.50%.

GRID GRID was buying transformers, smart meters and switchgear back in 2009, when "electrification" was a niche word. Roughly 100 global grid names, with the index reserving 80% of its weight for pure-play grid companies and 20% for diversified multinationals.

Stated mandate

ELFY ELFY seeks pre-fee, pre-expense results that generally track the Ladenburg Thalmann Electrification Infrastructure Index. Its investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

GRID The Fund is an exchange-traded equity fund seeking results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• ELFY Equal weighting is the design, not a footnote: every holding gets the same slot, so no single winner can balloon and crowd out the transformer and grid-gear names.hubspotusercontent-na1.net
• Costs 0.50% a year, below the median for its electrification peers and well under VOLT (0.75%) and FPWR (0.96%).
• Roughly 80 mid- and large-cap US names spanning generation, transmission, distribution and smart grid, one of the broader, better-spread builds in a small peer group.hubspotusercontent-na1.net
• Passive and rules-based: it follows the Ladenburg Thalmann Electrification Infrastructure Index, so the sector mix comes from published rules, not a manager's hunch.

• GRID The original grid fund. It has tracked Clean Edge's smart grid index since 2009, through a full cycle of clean-energy booms and busts, while most of its peer group launched recently.cleanedge.com
• At 0.56% it undercuts the 0.75% median for its grid and electrification cohort, though newer rivals ELFY and ZAP come in at 0.50%.
• The 80/20 split keeps the theme honest: pure-play grid firms carry most of the weight, with diversified multinationals filling the rest rather than swamping it.cleanedge.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and distributes quarterly, real staying power in a category where most competitors are still building a track record.

Worth knowing

• ELFY Launched in April 2025, so how it behaves through a full market cycle isn't on the tape yet.
• Trading is moderate rather than heavy and the asset base is mid-size, so spreads can widen when markets move fast.
• One theme, utility and industrial heavy, and equal weight gives smaller names as much pull as giants, so swings can run wider than a broad-market fund's.hubspotusercontent-na1.net

• GRID About 100 stocks in one theme tied to utility and industrial capex. When grid spending cools, the portfolio has nowhere else to be.ftportfolios.com
• Global by design, so non-US market moves and currency swings ride along with the grid story.ftportfolios.com
• Clean Edge decides what counts as a grid company. Membership resets semiannually with quarterly rebalances, so the lineup can shift under you.cleanedge.comnasdaq.com

Full ELFY profile⁠

Full GRID profile⁠