ETEC vs IQSZ

ETECCiShares Breakthrough Environmental Solutions ETF

IQSZBInvesco Global Equity Net Zero ETF

In short

ETEC iShares' bet on the next wave of green tech rather than today's incumbents: roughly 50 global names across eight environmental themes, from water to sustainable farming, priced under the typical global thematic fund.

IQSZ Active net-zero investing priced like an index fund: 0.19% for a global, roughly 500-stock portfolio where a quant process weighs momentum, quality and value alongside a company's emissions plans.

Stated mandate

ETEC Seeks to track an index of global companies developing breakthrough environmental technologies across energy efficiency, green buildings, green transportation, pollution prevention, renewable energy, water, resource efficiency, and sustainable agriculture.

IQSZ Seeks long-term total return. It actively invests at least 80% of assets in equity securities of companies judged to support the transition to a net-zero economy through current or planned greenhouse-gas reductions, primarily among large- and mid-cap companies in developed and emerging markets.

Why people hold it

• ETEC At 0.47% a year, it costs less than the median fund in its global thematic peer group.
• Eight environmental themes in one index (renewable energy, water, green buildings, green transport, pollution prevention, efficiency, resource efficiency, sustainable agriculture), so it isn't a one-technology bet.ishares.com
• Plain plumbing: a passive 1940 Act index fund from iShares tracking a Morningstar green-technology index. No leverage, no derivatives overlay.

• IQSZ 0.19% expense ratio against a peer-group median near 0.56%. Active management, index-fund pricing.
• Roughly 500 large- and mid-cap names across developed and emerging markets, so the climate tilt rides on a broad base rather than a handful of pure plays.
• At least 80% of assets go to companies judged to be cutting greenhouse gases now or under a stated plan, run through a momentum, quality and value quant screen.

Worth knowing

• ETEC Launched in 2023, still a small and thinly traded fund, so spreads can run wider and fills less predictable than in heavily traded ETFs.
• About 50 stocks betting on emerging technologies makes for concentrated exposure. Individual names carry real weight in the portfolio.
• Distributions land once or twice a year. Income is not what this mandate is built around.

• IQSZ Launched in 2025 and thinly traded, so spreads can run wider than in a mega-fund and there is little history to judge the process on.
• Net-zero alignment is a manager judgment that counts planned cuts, so the book can look closer to a broad global fund than a clean-energy basket.
• Emerging-market holdings add currency moves and local political risk to the mix.

Full ETEC profile⁠

Full IQSZ profile⁠