GII vs WUGI

GIIAState Street SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF

WUGIFAXS Esoterica NextG Economy ETF

In short

GII Toll roads, airports, pipelines and power grids in one ticker. GII has tracked the S&P Global Infrastructure Index since 2007, an early entrant in the category, and charges less than the typical infrastructure fund.

WUGI Most infrastructure funds buy bridges and pipelines by index. WUGI goes the other way: an active, non-diversified basket of roughly 27 global names in the 5G digital economy, run since its 2020 launch by the shop that built it.

Stated mandate

GII The fund seeks to track the total return of the S&P Global Infrastructure Index. That index provides exposure to large publicly listed infrastructure companies across transportation, utilities, and energy infrastructure.

WUGI The Fund seeks capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio focused on domestic and foreign companies connected to the 5G-enabled digital economy, including infrastructure, edge devices, and related services.

Why people hold it

• GII Tracks an index of 75 of the largest listed infrastructure companies, screened for float and liquidity, spread across transportation, utilities and energy infrastructure in developed and emerging markets.ssga.com
• 0.40% a year against a 0.55% median for infrastructure ETFs. The cheap end of a category that often is not cheap.
• Live since 2007, so the record covers the financial crisis, a decade of low rates and the 2022 rate shock. It rates among the strongest implementations in its infrastructure peer group.

• WUGI No index to hug. The managers pick roughly 27 companies across 5G infrastructure, edge devices and related services, spanning US and foreign stocks of any size.sec.gov
• Continuity at the helm: Esoterica Capital, the boutique that launched the fund in 2020, still runs the portfolio as sub-advisor under the AXS banner.axsinvestments.comsec.gov
• A contractual waiver does real work here: 0.84% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027, against a 1.46% gross expense ratio.

Worth knowing

• GII IGF follows the same index for 0.37%, three basis points less. GII's own trading is moderate rather than heavy, so spreads count alongside the fee gap.
• Roughly 70 stocks across three sectors and several currencies. A focused, globally scattered book that can behave quite differently from a broad world equity fund.ssga.com
• Distributions arrive on an annual or semiannual schedule, so cash lands in lumps rather than monthly.

• WUGI Even at 0.84% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027, the fee sits above the category median, and index peers cost far less: IFRA at 0.30%, PAVE at 0.47%.
• Non-diversified by design, so a handful of top names drive the result and swings run wider than a broad infrastructure basket.sec.gov
• A small, thinly traded fund that distributes once or twice a year, so trading costs and execution matter more than with the category's giants.

Full GII profile⁠

Full WUGI profile⁠