FPX vs IPOS

FPXAFirst Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF

IPOSDRenaissance International IPO ETF

In short

FPX The IPO trade with a rulebook. Since 2006, FPX has tracked an index of roughly 100 recently public US companies, new listings and spin-offs alike, at a lower fee than the typical fund in its niche.

IPOS The overseas half of the IPO trade. IPOS tracks a rules-based index of the largest, most liquid newly public companies listed outside the US, roughly 60 names, wrapped in one ticker.

Stated mandate

FPX The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance of the IPOX®-100 U.S. Index before fees and expenses. It normally invests at least 90% of net assets in securities comprising that Index.

IPOS The Fund seeks to provide investors with the largest, most liquid internationally listed newly public company stocks in one security. It uses passive indexing to approximate the performance of the Renaissance International IPO Index.

Why people hold it

• FPX At 0.57%, it undercuts the median fee in its IPO and spin-off peer group, including CSD (0.67%) and FPXI (0.70%).
• Launched in 2006 and now at billion-dollar-plus scale, it is a long-running vehicle in a category full of newer entrants.
• Rules over hunches: at least 90% of net assets sit in the IPOX-100 U.S. Index, about 100 names, so the basket is defined by methodology rather than a manager's favorites.
• Rates as one of the stronger implementations in its small group of IPO and spin-off funds, and pays distributions quarterly.

• IPOS One ticker for non-US new listings. The fund targets the largest, most liquid internationally listed newly public stocks rather than making you chase individual offerings across foreign exchanges.renaissancecapital.com
• Rules, not hunches. It passively tracks the Renaissance International IPO Index, so entries and exits follow published methodology instead of a manager's read on a hot deal.renaissancecapital.com
• A veteran in a thin category. Launched in 2014, it has run through multiple IPO booms and freezes, and it pays distributions on a quarterly schedule.
• Reach spans developed and emerging markets, so the basket picks up new listings from Europe and Asia that broad international index funds tend to hold only in small weights.renaissancecapital.com

Worth knowing

• FPX The whole portfolio is built from recent listings and spin-offs, a slice of the market known for sharp moves in both directions.
• Cheap for the niche, not cheap in absolute terms: 0.57% is a thematic-fund price tag, not a core-index one.
• US-only by design, and concentrated at about 100 stocks. Overseas new listings fall outside the mandate and live in the sibling fund FPXI.

• IPOS Cost sits at the high end: 0.80% a year, above the 0.70% cohort median and above direct rival FPXI at 0.70%.
• Small and thinly traded. Bid-ask spreads carry more weight here than with large, heavily traded index funds, and size limits how easily big orders move.
• A focused basket of about 60 recent listings, all of them companies without long public track records. On our measures it lands in the back of its small IPO and spin-off peer group.

Full FPX profile⁠

Full IPOS profile⁠