FAN vs IBAT

FANBFirst Trust Global Wind Energy ETF

IBATBiShares Energy Storage & Materials ETF

In short

FAN Wind, and only wind. Tracking a global index since 2008, FAN reserves 60% of the weight for pure-play turbine makers and wind-farm operators, with diversified multinationals taking the rest.

IBAT Most EV funds buy carmakers. IBAT drops a layer down the supply chain to the batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells and storage materials underneath, tracking a global STOXX index at a fee that undercuts much of its thematic peer group.

Stated mandate

FAN The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the ISE Clean Edge Global Wind Energy Index, an equity index focused on companies active in wind energy.

IBAT The fund seeks to track an index of global companies involved in battery technologies, hydrogen, fuel cells, and other energy-storage solutions. It provides targeted exposure to companies supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Why people hold it

• FAN Broad clean-energy funds blend solar, storage and grid hardware. This index stays on wind: farm developers, power producers, and machinery built specifically for the industry.ftportfolios.com
• The 60/40 split is deliberate, keeping smaller wind-only names (50%+ of revenue or generating capacity from wind) from being drowned out by multinationals with a wind division.ftportfolios.comsec.gov
• Trading since June 2008, it predates most of the clean-energy shelf and has run through the theme's full boom and bust. Roughly 50 stocks worldwide, distributions paid quarterly.
• One of the stronger overall builds in a crowded clean-energy peer group, and among the steadier ones in that group on measured risk.

• IBAT 0.47% a year, cheaper than Global X's DRIV (0.68%) and Amplify's BATT (0.59%).
• Buys the storage layer, not the showroom: battery technology, hydrogen, fuel cells and the materials that feed them.ishares.com
• Global mandate, roughly 80 holdings: miners, chemical firms and equipment makers a US large-cap index never touches.
• Sits in the upper tier of its battery and EV thematic group on our review.

Worth knowing

• FAN 0.60% net of a waiver through January 31, 2027 (0.61% gross) sits near the category median, but above ICLN at 0.38% and FRNW at 0.39%, neither waiver-dependent.
• One industry, roughly 50 global names. Turbine order books, power prices and policy shifts move this more than they move a diversified energy fund.
• Assets and volume are moderate next to the category's largest funds, so spreads can widen; worth checking the quote before trading.

• IBAT One theme, one supply chain. Battery and materials demand drives the whole basket in the same direction at the same time.
• BlackRock applies business involvement screens, so the portfolio is a filtered slice of the industry rather than the full map.ishares.com
• Launched in 2024, so the record is short and payouts come once or twice a year at most. Not an income holding.

Full FAN profile⁠

Full IBAT profile⁠