ENFR vs FCG

ENFRBAlerian Energy Infrastructure ETF

FCGCFirst Trust Natural Gas ETF

In short

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.

FCG Most "energy" ETFs are oil funds in a wider coat. FCG skips that framing: it tracks a Nasdaq FactSet natural gas index, about 40 names deep, and has been running the same pure-gas mandate since 2007.

Stated mandate

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.

FCG The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of the Nasdaq FactSet Natural Gas Index.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• FCG Narrow by design: it tracks the Nasdaq FactSet Natural Gas Index, roughly 40 names, rather than the oil-heavy majors that anchor broad energy funds like XLE and VDE.ftportfolios.com
• Launched in 2007, so the gas-only mandate has run through the shale boom and multiple price busts instead of arriving with the latest energy storyline.
• Actively traded for a single-commodity sector fund, so getting in and out doesn't hinge on one thin order book.
• Distributions come on a quarterly schedule, passing producer payouts through at a set cadence.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• FCG Focus costs money: 0.59% a year versus a 0.45% median for broad energy funds, and far above the 0.08% charged by XLE and FENY.
• One commodity, about 40 stocks. Gas price swings land harder here than in a diversified energy fund that also holds refiners and integrated majors.
• Mid-sized rather than a category heavyweight, which is normal for a single-commodity equity fund but means less scale than the broad energy giants.

Full ENFR profile⁠

Full FCG profile⁠