FRNW vs PBW

FRNWAFidelity Clean Energy ETF

PBWCInvesco WilderHill Clean Energy 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.

PBW The original clean energy ETF, listed back in 2005. Its index weights names evenly within each sector and caps any one stock at 4% at the quarterly rebalance, so small pure-plays get real say. Costs 0.63%, near the category median.

Stated mandate

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

PBW The fund seeks to track the investment results of the WilderHill Clean Energy Index before fees and expenses. It normally invests at least 90% of total assets in common stocks comprising the index.

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.

• PBW Listed in March 2005, it is the elder of the clean energy group, with two decades of history across the theme's booms and busts.
• Modified equal-dollar weighting: holdings sit evenly within their sector and no single name may exceed 4% at the quarterly rebalance, so a few giants cannot run the show.wildershares.com
• About 70 US-listed clean energy names, with the index reset every March, June, September and December, which trims the quarter's winners and re-ups the laggards.wildershares.com
• One of the more actively traded funds in its category, and it pays distributions quarterly.

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.

• PBW At 0.63% it lands near the category median, though index rivals run cheaper: ICLN charges 0.38%, FRNW 0.39%.
• Equal weighting inside each sector pushes money down the cap scale, so small pure-plays swing this portfolio far more than they would in a market-cap-weighted clean energy fund.wildershares.com
• The roster is set by qualitative calls at each quarterly rebalance (relevance to climate change, pollution prevention, technological significance), not a purely numeric screen.wildershares.com

Full FRNW profile⁠

Full PBW profile⁠