FXN vs XLE: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund

FXNCNYSE Arca

State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF

XLEANYSE Arca

Overlap

43.7%by weight

Expense ratio

XLE −0.55pt a year

FXN0.63%XLE0.08%

Avg volume · 30D

XLE 23.7×the volume

FXN1.28MXLE30.2M

10Y return · a year

XLE +3.7pt

FXN+8.2%XLE+11.9%

FXN vs XLE Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+123.7%FXN+190.1%XLE

Expense ratio: FXN 0.63%; XLE 0.08%, better
Fund size: FXN $407M; XLE $45.3B
1Y total return: FXN +60.8%; XLE +63.4%, better
Yield (12M): FXN 1.68%; XLE 2.18%, better
Holdings: FXN 41; XLE 24
Avg volume (30D): FXN 1.28M sh; XLE 30.2M sh, better
NAV per share: FXN $24.99; XLE $68.72
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FXN, XLE, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FXN	XLE
Cost30% weight	D29	A98Higher
Mission25% weight	B67	Not scored
Risk15% weight	D25	C54Higher
Tradability15% weight	A77	A97Higher
Holdings10% weight	A89Higher	D37
Durability5% weight	B69	A88Higher

Rank among Energy (Broad) funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FXN and XLE are both graded against the same 24 Energy (Broad) funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Energy (Broad)⁠

Category · 24 funds

See all 24 ›

XLE ranks 1st and FXN 11th of 24 funds in the Energy (Broad) Category.

Rank 1AXLEState Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETFScore 80
Rank 2AFENYFidelity MSCI Energy Index ETFScore 77
Rank 10CPXIInvesco Dorsey Wright Energy Momentum ETFScore 49
Rank 11CFXNFirst Trust Energy AlphaDEX FundScore 48
Rank 12CFCGFirst Trust Natural Gas ETFScore 47

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FXNCFirst Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund

XLEAState Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF

In short

FXN Energy exposure without the two-giant problem. FXN ranks Russell 1000 energy names on growth and value marks, keeps the best scorers, and tier-weights about 40 of them so smaller drillers carry real weight. Running since 2007.

XLE The 1998 original and still the default way to trade US energy: XLE holds only the oil, gas and oilfield services names inside the S&P 500, capped-weighted, for 0.08% a year.

Stated mandate

FXN The Fund seeks to track before expenses the price and yield of the StrataQuant® Energy Index, an enhanced index using the AlphaDEX® methodology to select energy-sector stocks.

XLE The fund seeks to provide investment results that generally track the price and yield performance of the Energy Select Sector Index before expenses.

Why people hold it

FXN Rules do the picking: stocks are scored on growth marks (3, 6 and 12-month price moves, sales to price, sales growth) and value marks, then sorted into quintiles by score.nyse.com ftportfolios.com
Weighting is tiered, not cap-driven: the top-scoring quintile takes a third of the index, equal-weighted within tiers, so about 40 names share the load instead of two giants.nyse.com
A 2007 launch means this strategy has run through multiple oil booms and busts, and shares change hands actively. Pays quarterly.

XLE 0.08% a year against a 0.45% median for broad energy funds. It ties the cheapest in its group (FENY) and undercuts VDE.
Launched December 1998 as one of the first sector ETFs. Today a multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the most heavily traded in its category.
Clean pure play: oil, gas and consumable fuels plus energy equipment and services drawn from the S&P 500. No utilities riding along.ssga.com
Pays quarterly, and a deep listed options market sits around it for hedging or covered-call work.barchart.com

Worth knowing

FXN At 0.63% a year, it charges roughly double the median factor fund in its peer group. That is the price of the quant screen.
The index reconstitutes and rebalances quarterly, which the fund's prospectus notes can push portfolio turnover higher.otcmarkets.com nyse.com
One sector, concentrated by design: energy prices and drilling budgets drive results, with no cushion from other parts of the market.ftportfolios.com

XLE A short roster by design, with the integrated majors carrying most of the weight. The index caps weights at each quarterly rebalance so no single stock runs away.spglobal.com ssga.com
Large-cap US only. Small caps, midstream partnerships and overseas majors sit outside the mandate; FENY and VDE cast a wider net.ssga.com
One sector tied to one commodity complex: results move with crude and gas prices, in wider swings than a diversified index.ssga.com

Full FXN profile⁠

Full XLE profile⁠

FXN vs XLE Holdings

How FXN and XLE differ

Overlap by weight

43.7%

Shared holdings make up 99.8% of XLE and 53.6% of FXN.

Level by level

Holdings21 in both43.7%
Sector3 Sectors96.2%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in FXN and XLE, widest gap first
Sector	More in FXNMore in XLE	FXN	XLE
Energy	XLE +3.8 points	96.2%	100.0%
Technology	FXN +3.3 points	3.3%	0.0%
Utilities	FXN +0.5 points	0.5%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FXN and XLE, widest gap first
Country	More in FXNMore in XLE	FXN	XLE
United States	Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FXN41.0%
XLE78.4%

Securities held

FXN40
XLE22

Asset class

FXN: Equity
XLE: Equity

Holdings

Only in FXN19
In both21
Only in XLE1

Only in FXN

19 securities, 46.3% of FXN by weight

Range Resources Corporation5.37%
Antero Resources Corporation4.59%
Chord Energy Corporation4.26%
Ovintiv Inc.3.66%
First Solar, Inc.3.63%
Permian Resources Corp.3.59%
Matador Resources Company3.44%
HF Sinclair Corp.3.12%
Weatherford International Plc2.52%
TechnipFMC Plc2.21%
Cheniere Energy, Inc.1.79%
Viper Energy, Inc. (Class A)1.74%
NOV Inc.1.50%
Nextpower Inc. (Class A)1.48%
Antero Midstream Corp.0.78%
DT Midstream, Inc.0.76%
SOLV Energy, Inc. (Class A)0.71%
Enphase Energy, Inc.0.57%
X-Energy, Inc. (Class A)0.56%

Only in XLE

1 security, 0.0% of XLE by weight

Xae Energy DEC260.01%

Weight gaps

All 21 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in FXN and XLE, widest gap first
Holding	More in FXNMore in XLE	FXN	XLE
ExxonMobil Holdings Corp.XOM	XLE +21.75 points	2.51%	24.26%
Chevron CorporationCVX	XLE +15.82 points	2.52%	18.34%
ConocoPhillipsCOP	XLE +4.54 points	2.69%	7.23%
The Williams Companies, Inc.WMB	XLE +3.44 points	0.80%	4.24%
Expand Energy CorporationEXE	FXN +2.92 points	3.92%	1.00%
APA CorporationAPA	FXN +2.84 points	3.70%	0.86%
Targa Resources Corp.TRGP	XLE +2.34 points	0.85%	3.19%
SLB Ltd.SLB	XLE +2.21 points	1.61%	3.82%
EQT CorporationEQT	FXN +1.69 points	3.32%	1.63%
Kinder Morgan, Inc.KMI	XLE +1.54 points	1.64%	3.18%
ONEOK, Inc.OKE	XLE +1.23 points	1.66%	2.89%
Baker Hughes Company (Class A)BKR	XLE +1.12 points	1.47%	2.59%
Halliburton CompanyHAL	FXN +1.05 points	2.48%	1.43%
Devon Energy CorporationDVN	FXN +0.61 points	3.30%	2.69%
EOG Resources, Inc.EOG	XLE +0.57 points	3.50%	4.07%
Marathon Petroleum CorporationMPC	XLE +0.51 points	4.10%	4.61%
Diamondback Energy, Inc.FANG	FXN +0.50 points	2.52%	2.02%
Valero Energy CorporationVLO	XLE +0.46 points	3.75%	4.21%
Phillips 66PSX	XLE +0.43 points	4.03%	4.46%
Occidental Petroleum CorporationOXY	FXN +0.33 points	2.53%	2.20%
Texas Pacific Land CorporationTPL	XLE +0.18 points	0.74%	0.92%

All 40 FXN holdings⁠All 21 XLE holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FXN vs XLE Cost

Overpaying FXN vs XLE

$10,670

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FXN 0.63%
$12,359
XLE 0.08%
$1,689

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FXN 0.63%
XLE 0.08%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FXN	XLE	Overpaying
10	$1,128	$147	$981
20	$4,311	$575	$3,736
30	$12,359	$1,689	$10,670

Expense ratio

0.63%FXN
0.08%XLE, cheaper

XLE0.08%FXN0.63%

0.08%0.95%

Middle half of Energy (Broad) funds
Median 0.46%

XLE cheapest of 24 funds

FXN 17th cheapest of 24 funds

FXN vs XLE Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FXN 1.68%; XLE 2.18%, better
Payout (12M): FXN $0.42; XLE $1.52
Last payment: FXN $0.16; XLE $0.38
Ex-dividend: FXN Sep 24, 2026; XLE Sep 21, 2026
Paid on: FXN Sep 30, 2026; XLE Sep 23, 2026
Frequency: FXN Quarterly; XLE Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

FXNQuarterly · 37 paymentsAll FXN payments⁠

XLEQuarterly · 40 paymentsAll XLE payments⁠

FXN vs XLE Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FXN 22.8%XLE 21.3%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FXN 0.56XLE 0.82, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FXN −31.7%XLE −26.1%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FXN 0.06XLE −0.02; Market = 1

FXN and XLE in the news

All news⁠

Top Movers
Oil plunges on Iran talks as tech stocks fall again
5 hours agoXLE
Closing Bell
S&P 500 falls 0.5% as tech losses outweigh oil’s 7% drop
5 hours agoXLE
Category Rankings
Chips, AI and crypto took October's losses
Updated Nov 2, 2026XLE
Closing Bell
Chip woes drag Nazdaq, S&P 500 to worst day since June
Oct 30, 2026XLE
Top Movers
Intel's forecast sank the chip ETFs, and funds holding more Intel fell harder
Oct 30, 2026XLE
Closing Bell
Boeing plummets 10.7%, but Chip stocks lift S&P 500 on Broadcom deal
Oct 27, 2026XLE

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FXN vs XLE

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it