FXB vs UUP

FXBBInvesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust

UUPCInvesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund

In short

FXB One-ticker access to the pound. FXB is a grantor trust whose value aims to reflect the dollar price of sterling, plus any accrued interest, less expenses. Live since 2006, it's an original in a very small corner of the ETF market.

UUP One ticker, one job: be long the dollar. Since 2007 UUP has used ICE Dollar Index futures to track the greenback against six major currencies, putting a macro trade that normally needs a futures account inside a brokerage account.

Stated mandate

FXB The Trust seeks to reflect the U.S.-dollar price of British Pound Sterling, plus accrued interest if any, after deducting its expenses and liabilities.

UUP The Fund seeks to track positive or negative changes in the Deutsche Bank Long USD Currency Portfolio Index—Excess Return over time. It primarily uses long positions in ICE U.S. Dollar Index futures contracts, while holding Treasury and cash-management instruments for related purposes.

Why people hold it

• FXB One job, plainly stated: reflect the dollar price of the pound, plus any accrued interest, after expenses. A grantor trust tied to sterling, not a manager's macro call.invesco.com
• 0.40% a year, the standard rate across Invesco's CurrencyShares lineup (FXE, FXF and FXY all charge the same) and right at the single-currency median.
• Trading since 2006, one of the longest continuous runs among single-currency funds, and one of the stronger implementations in that small group.
• Whatever interest accrues on the trust's sterling above expenses goes out on a monthly schedule rather than piling up inside the wrapper.

• UUP The mechanism is pure: long ICE U.S. Dollar Index futures, so the fund moves with the dollar against the euro, yen, pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc.invesco.com
• Launched in 2007, it has run through dollar booms and slumps, making it one of the longest-lived currency funds on the tape.
• Tradability is its strongest suit: an actively traded name where getting in and out rarely means wrestling the spread.
• Futures carry the currency exposure while Treasury and cash-management instruments sit behind them as collateral.

Worth knowing

• FXB Thinly traded next to mainstream ETFs, so spreads and order size matter more here than in a big index fund.
• One currency, one exposure. Sterling versus the dollar drives the entire result, and the 0.40% fee comes off the top each year.
• Interest is conditional, not fixed: payouts depend on what accrues on the trust's sterling after expenses, so the cadence is monthly but the amounts are not set.

• UUP 0.78% a year is a real hurdle, and well above what plain broad-market index trackers in the same cohort charge.
• It is a commodity pool built on futures, not a standard stock fund, so tax forms and reporting work differently.
• Currency moves are the entire story here: no earnings, no dividend stream, and distributions are occasional rather than regular.

Full FXB profile⁠

Full UUP profile⁠