FMAT vs METL

FMATAFidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF

METLFSprott Active Metals & Miners ETF

In short

FMAT The whole US materials sector in one cheap wrapper: chemicals, industrial gases, miners and packagers, roughly 120 names spanning large down to small caps, for 0.08% a year. Fidelity has run it since 2013.

METL Sprott's stock-picking answer to a sector ruled by cheap index trackers: about 40 global metals and mining names chosen by a manager, in a plain ETF wrapper. Active conviction, active price tag.

Stated mandate

FMAT The fund seeks to provide returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the MSCI USA IMI Materials Index.

METL The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• FMAT Costs 0.08% a year, tied with XLB for the lowest fee among materials ETFs and a fraction of what the typical fund in the group charges.
• Tracks MSCI's investable-market index, so the basket reaches past the mega caps into mid and small caps: roughly 120 holdings, not a dozen giants.fidelity.com
• Does what the label says. Its returns have hugged its stated MSCI materials index, one of the stronger index implementations in its peer group.
• Live since 2013 with a multi-hundred-million-dollar asset base and quarterly distributions.

• METL A concentrated book of roughly 40 global metals and miners, picked by a manager rather than inherited from a broad materials index.
• The mandate is global, so the manager can own miners listed outside the US, unlike domestic-only materials funds such as IYM.
• Ordinary plumbing: a 1940 Act fund holding stocks, not futures or partnerships. That means 1099 reporting and no K-1 at tax time.

Worth knowing

• FMAT One sector, and a cyclical one. Materials profits ride commodity prices and industrial demand, so this can move a long way from the broad market in either direction.
• US-listed companies only, so the big Australian, Canadian and European miners sit outside the basket.fidelity.com
• Moderately traded rather than a volume leader, so spreads can run wider than at the busiest materials funds, especially in fast markets.

• METL 0.99% a year buys the stock picking. The category's index options (XLB, VAW, FMAT) charge under 0.10%, so the manager starts each year well behind them.
• Launched in 2025, so there is no full mining cycle on the record yet to judge the manager's calls against.
• Trades lightly next to the category's heavyweights, which tends to mean wider spreads. Distributions land once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full FMAT profile⁠

Full METL profile⁠