FRNW vs IBAT

FRNWAFidelity Clean Energy ETF

IBATBiShares Energy Storage & Materials 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.

IBAT Most EV funds buy carmakers. IBAT drops a layer down the supply chain to the batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells and storage materials underneath, tracking a global STOXX index at a fee that undercuts much of its thematic peer group.

Stated mandate

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

IBAT The fund seeks to track an index of global companies involved in battery technologies, hydrogen, fuel cells, and other energy-storage solutions. It provides targeted exposure to companies supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

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.

• IBAT 0.47% a year, cheaper than Global X's DRIV (0.68%) and Amplify's BATT (0.59%).
• Buys the storage layer, not the showroom: battery technology, hydrogen, fuel cells and the materials that feed them.ishares.com
• Global mandate, roughly 80 holdings: miners, chemical firms and equipment makers a US large-cap index never touches.
• Sits in the upper tier of its battery and EV thematic group on our review.

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.

• IBAT One theme, one supply chain. Battery and materials demand drives the whole basket in the same direction at the same time.
• BlackRock applies business involvement screens, so the portfolio is a filtered slice of the industry rather than the full map.ishares.com
• Launched in 2024, so the record is short and payouts come once or twice a year at most. Not an income holding.

Full FRNW profile⁠

Full IBAT profile⁠