ENFR vs WEEI

ENFRBAlerian Energy Infrastructure ETF

WEEIDWestwood Salient Enhanced Energy Income 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.

WEEI Most energy ETFs hand you the sector and stop there. WEEI is the active one: North American energy stocks with covered calls written on top, distributions paid monthly. The options overlay is the whole product, and you pay up for it.

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.

WEEI The actively managed ETF seeks current income and capital appreciation, investing primarily in equity securities of energy companies and normally at least 80% of net assets in those companies.

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.

• WEEI A rare setup in energy: an active manager picks the stocks, then writes calls against them, with income paid monthly. The big index peers deliver sector beta and nothing more.westwoodgroup.com
• Calls are written only against shares the fund already owns. The premium comes from capping upside on stock it holds, not from borrowed money or naked options.westwoodgroup.com
• Westwood states the call writing is meant to damp volatility and run a lower beta than the S&P Energy Select Sector Index, the yardstick most sector funds hug.westwoodgroup.com
• The active mandate lets managers roam upstream, midstream, downstream, services and integrateds, with at least 80% of net assets in energy companies.westwoodgroup.com

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.

• WEEI At 0.85% a year, one of the priciest tickets in the energy aisle. The cohort median is 0.45%, and index heavyweights XLE and FENY charge 0.08%.
• Covered calls swap upside for premium. When oil and gas names run hard, the shares with calls written on them get capped while plain sector funds keep climbing.westwoodgroup.com
• Westwood notes distributions may include return of capital, which can reduce NAV over time. The fund launched in 2024 and remains small, so the track record is short.westwoodgroup.com

Full ENFR profile⁠

Full WEEI profile⁠