FCG vs VDE

FCGCFirst Trust Natural Gas ETF

VDEAVanguard Energy ETF

In short

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.

VDE Energy without the mega-cap tunnel vision. VDE tracks an index of roughly 110 US energy stocks, large down to small cap, for 0.09% a year, and it has been running since 2004.

Stated mandate

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

VDE The fund seeks to track the MSCI US Investable Market Energy 25/50 Index, which represents large-, mid-, and small-cap U.S. energy-sector stocks.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• VDE Costs 0.09% a year, a fraction of what the typical energy sector fund charges.
• Casts a wider net than mega-cap-only energy funds: about 110 large-, mid- and small-cap US names, from the integrated majors to shale drillers and refiners.vanguard.com
• Hugs its benchmark closely and trades actively, which tends to keep spreads slim for everyday buys and sells.
• Live since 2004 and one of the strongest builds in the broad energy group, with a Vanguard fee structure that has only ratcheted downward.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• VDE One sector, one storyline: this rides crude and natural gas prices, and it swings harder in both directions than a total-market fund.
• Cap-weighted, so a handful of US oil majors carry outsized weight despite the long holdings list; the index's 25/50 rules limit that concentration rather than erase it.vanguard.com
• Income arrives quarterly, not monthly, and moves with what energy companies choose to pay out.

Full FCG profile⁠

Full VDE profile⁠