FENY vs VDE

FENYAFidelity MSCI Energy Index ETF

VDEAVanguard Energy ETF

In short

FENY One of the cheapest ways to own U.S. energy: 0.08% a year for roughly 110 energy stocks tracked through MSCI's full-market benchmark. No stock picking, no clever tilts, just the sector at cost.

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

FENY Seeks investment returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Energy 25/50 Index. The fund invests at least 80% of assets in securities included in that index and uses representative sampling.

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

• FENY Costs 0.08% a year against a 0.45% median for broad energy funds. Only XLE matches it; VDE, IYE and ENFR all charge more.
• Tracks MSCI's USA IMI energy benchmark, a full-market read on the sector, so the basket runs roughly 110 names deep rather than a short list.
• Returns have lined up closely with the index it follows, and it trades actively. As implementations of broad energy go, this is one of the tidiest in the group.
• Running since 2013, so it has a long record through both oil booms and busts, and Fidelity has kept it plain vanilla the whole way.

• 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

• FENY One sector, one country. Oil and gas prices set the mood here, and the swings run wider than a total-market fund's.
• The index weights by company size, so even with roughly 110 holdings a handful of giants carry most of the load.
• Distributions land quarterly, not monthly, which matters if you are pacing income.

• 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 FENY profile⁠

Full VDE profile⁠