FPWR vs GRID

FPWRCFirst Trust EIP Power Solutions ETF

GRIDBFirst Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

In short

FPWR The stock-picker in a category of index trackers. First Trust hands the keys to energy-income specialist EIP, which assembles a power portfolio (grid, gas, nuclear, storage) balanced between dividends and capital appreciation.

GRID GRID was buying transformers, smart meters and switchgear back in 2009, when "electrification" was a niche word. Roughly 100 global grid names, with the index reserving 80% of its weight for pure-play grid companies and 20% for diversified multinationals.

Stated mandate

FPWR The Fund seeks competitive risk-adjusted total returns balanced between dividends and capital appreciation.

GRID The Fund is an exchange-traded equity fund seeking results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• FPWR Actively run, not indexed: sub-advisor Energy Income Partners picks the names, aiming for risk-adjusted total return split between dividends and capital appreciation.eipinvestments.com
• The mandate spans the whole electricity chain: generation, transmission and distribution, grid solutions, storage, nuclear life-extension and small modular reactors, gas and uranium.sec.gov
• Picks-and-shovels included: engineering, consulting and construction firms qualify when at least 50% of revenue or profit comes from energy and utility work.sec.gov
• Income is built into the design rather than incidental, and the fund distributes on a quarterly schedule.

• GRID The original grid fund. It has tracked Clean Edge's smart grid index since 2009, through a full cycle of clean-energy booms and busts, while most of its peer group launched recently.cleanedge.com
• At 0.56% it undercuts the 0.75% median for its grid and electrification cohort, though newer rivals ELFY and ZAP come in at 0.50%.
• The 80/20 split keeps the theme honest: pure-play grid firms carry most of the weight, with diversified multinationals filling the rest rather than swamping it.cleanedge.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and distributes quarterly, real staying power in a category where most competitors are still building a track record.

Worth knowing

• FPWR Active talent costs: 0.96% a year, while index-based rivals ELFY and ZAP charge 0.50% and GRID 0.56%.
• A small fund that trades lightly, so the bid-ask spread can matter as much as the expense ratio when you enter or exit.
• It traded as the First Trust EIP Carbon Impact ETF (ECLN) until September 2025, when the strategy and name changed, so earlier results reflect a different mandate.businesswire.com

• GRID About 100 stocks in one theme tied to utility and industrial capex. When grid spending cools, the portfolio has nowhere else to be.ftportfolios.com
• Global by design, so non-US market moves and currency swings ride along with the grid story.ftportfolios.com
• Clean Edge decides what counts as a grid company. Membership resets semiannually with quarterly rebalances, so the lineup can shift under you.cleanedge.comnasdaq.com

Full FPWR profile⁠

Full GRID profile⁠