FRNW vs HYDR

FRNWAFidelity Clean Energy ETF

HYDRCGlobal X Hydrogen ETF

In short

FRNW Fidelity wrote its own clean energy index, then priced the fund at 0.39% a year, matching the category's cheapest heavyweights and undercutting most rivals. Roughly 60 global stocks: solar, wind, and the grid gear behind them.

HYDR Clean energy with the solar panels stripped out. HYDR is a global, roughly 25-stock basket built around hydrogen alone: production, electrolyzers, fuel cells, and the gear that wires it into the energy system.

Stated mandate

FRNW The fund seeks returns that generally track the Fidelity Clean Energy Index before fees and expenses.

HYDR HYDR targets companies expected to benefit from the global hydrogen industry's development, including hydrogen production, energy-system integration, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and related hydrogen-use technologies.

Why people hold it

• FRNW 0.39% a year ties the low-cost leader of the group (ICLN) and comes in under CNRG at 0.45% and FAN at 0.61%. In a theme where fees often run higher, that is real money kept.
• Global by mandate, not US-only. The index reaches clean energy companies worldwide, so the fund follows the industry rather than one country's subsidy calendar.
• A plain index fund, not a stock-picking bet: it aims to track the Fidelity Clean Energy Index before fees, so what you own is spelled out in the methodology.
• One of the stronger builds in a crowded clean energy shelf on our review, with the low fee and a spread-out portfolio doing the heavy lifting. Pays quarterly.

• HYDR A true pure play. It tracks the Solactive Global Hydrogen Index, so you get hydrogen producers, fuel cells and electrolyzers rather than a broad clean-energy mix.globalxetfs.com
• 0.50% a year, which undercuts the typical clean-energy ETF fee. Cheap for a niche, single-technology theme.
• The mandate is global, not US-only, which matters when much of the hydrogen supply chain sits in Europe and Asia.globalxetfs.com
• Live since 2021, and one of the stronger builds in the upper half of its clean-energy peer group.

Worth knowing

• FRNW One theme, one industry. Clean energy names swing with interest rates, policy shifts, and equipment prices, so the ride is far choppier than a broad market fund.
• Roughly 60 stocks. That is focused enough that a handful of names and a couple of countries carry real weight in the outcome.
• Not one of the giants. A mid-size asset base and moderate trading activity can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the category's most heavily traded funds.

• HYDR Around 25 stocks tied to one technology. That concentration cuts both ways, and moves are typically sharper than a diversified clean-energy fund's.
• Broad clean-energy options like ICLN and FRNW run 0.39%, so the hydrogen focus carries a modest fee premium.
• Distributions land once or twice a year at most. This is a growth theme, not an income engine.

Full FRNW profile⁠

Full HYDR profile⁠