FUTY vs XLU

FUTYAFidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF

XLUAState Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

In short

FUTY The whole US power grid in one ticker. Fidelity tracks an all-cap MSCI utilities index, so mid- and small-cap operators ride along with the mega-cap names, at 0.08% a year.

XLU One of the original sector ETFs (1998), XLU is the plain way to own the S&P 500's utilities: roughly 30 electric, gas and water names, eight basis points a year, and one of the deepest trading markets in the category.

Stated mandate

FUTY The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Utilities Index.

XLU The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Utilities Select Sector Index.

Why people hold it

• FUTY Costs 0.08% a year against a 0.37% median for broad utilities funds. That ties XLU on price and edges out VPU.
• The MSCI USA IMI Utilities Index reaches past the S&P 500 giants into mid- and small-cap utilities, roughly 70 names of power, gas and water.fidelity.com
• Plain index replication, running since 2013, with tracking that has stayed tight to the benchmark. No swaps, no options overlay, no clever wrapper.fidelity.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund from a major issuer that pays out quarterly, and one of the stronger builds in the utilities group.

• XLU 0.08% a year, against a utilities-fund median closer to 0.37%. Only FUTY matches it; VPU sits a basis point behind.
• Among the most actively traded funds in its category, with a market that has been running since 1998.
• A straight index build: it holds the utilities slice of the S&P 500 and tracks that index closely. Pays quarterly.ssga.com
• Cheap, liquid and tightly run, it stands among the strongest implementations in the broad utilities group.

Worth knowing

• FUTY This is one sector, about 70 stocks. When utilities are out of favor, there is nowhere in the portfolio to hide.
• Moderately traded rather than the category's busiest tape, so limit orders are the sane habit on larger tickets.
• The all-cap reach cuts both ways: smaller utilities in the mix behave differently from the household-name giants that dominate S&P 500-only rivals.

• XLU About 30 names, all S&P 500 members. The largest utilities carry real weight, and mid and small caps sit outside the mandate; FUTY and VPU cast a wider net.ssga.com
• One sector, one country. It moves with US utilities rather than the broad market, and that concentration cuts both ways.
• Cash lands quarterly, not monthly, which matters if you are timing income.

Full FUTY profile⁠

Full XLU profile⁠