FCOM vs IXP

FCOMBFidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF

IXPCiShares Global Comm Services ETF

In short

FCOM Communication services without the mega-cap chokehold: FCOM tracks an MSCI index that reaches past the giants into mid and small caps, with 25/50 caps on the biggest names, for 0.08% a year.

IXP IXP is the passport version of a communication services fund: one global basket of roughly 60 phone, media and internet companies, on the shelf since 2001.

Stated mandate

FCOM The fund seeks to track the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Communication Services 25/50 Index.

IXP The fund seeks to track an index of global equities in the communication services sector.

Why people hold it

• FCOM 0.08% a year against a 0.37% median for the group: level with XLC, a hair under VOX.
• About 110 holdings through MSCI's investable market index, so mid and small cap media and telecom names ride along, not just the household giants.
• The index's 25/50 caps limit how heavy any single position can get, a guardrail in a sector where a few names carry most of the weight.
• Running since 2013 in Fidelity's index lineup, and it has tracked its benchmark closely, one of the stronger implementations in its peer group.

• IXP Global by mandate. It tracks an index of communication services companies worldwide, so overseas carriers and media groups sit next to the familiar US mega-caps.ishares.com
• Trading since 2001, back when sector index funds were still a novelty, and it grew from a global telecom fund into the broader communication services mandate it carries now.ishares.com
• About 60 holdings makes for a readable portfolio: you can actually name what you own instead of buying a thousand-ticker blur.

Worth knowing

• FCOM Communication services is a narrow slice of the market, and the same handful of search, streaming and telecom giants dominate it however the weights are capped.
• Moderately traded rather than the category's volume leader, so spreads can run wider than at the busiest fund on the shelf.
• Distributions arrive quarterly, and the mandate is sector exposure, not income.

• IXP The 0.37% fee sits at the category median, but US-focused peers like XLC, FCOM and VOX charge a fraction of it. The global reach is what the difference buys.
• Trading is light next to the category's biggest names, so spreads can run wider, especially on large orders or jumpy days.
• Distributions land once or twice a year rather than quarterly, and with foreign holdings, currency moves ride along with the stocks.

Full FCOM profile⁠

Full IXP profile⁠