GRID vs POW

GRIDBFirst Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

POWDVistaShares Electrification Supercycle ETF

In short

GRID GRID was buying transformers, smart meters and switchgear back in 2009, when "electrification" was a niche word. Roughly 100 global grid names, with the index reserving 80% of its weight for pure-play grid companies and 20% for diversified multinationals.

POW Most grid funds buy the utilities. POW works the bill of materials instead: transformers, HVDC gear, switchgear, cooling, the parts list behind the AI power buildout, in an active book of roughly 60 names.

Stated mandate

GRID The Fund is an exchange-traded equity fund seeking results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index before fees and expenses.

POW The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by actively investing in companies involved in electrification infrastructure, including modern energy grids, integrated storage, and distributed power systems.

Why people hold it

• GRID The original grid fund. It has tracked Clean Edge's smart grid index since 2009, through a full cycle of clean-energy booms and busts, while most of its peer group launched recently.cleanedge.com
• At 0.56% it undercuts the 0.75% median for its grid and electrification cohort, though newer rivals ELFY and ZAP come in at 0.50%.
• The 80/20 split keeps the theme honest: pure-play grid firms carry most of the weight, with diversified multinationals filling the rest rather than swamping it.cleanedge.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and distributes quarterly, real staying power in a category where most competitors are still building a track record.

• POW Buys the parts list, not the power company: transformers, HVDC systems, substation switchgear and cooling, suppliers broad indexes often skip for big energy operators.vistashares.com
• Actively managed against the BITA VistaShares Electrification Supercycle Index, with a global mandate and at least 80% of assets in electrification companies.vistashares.com
• At 0.75% it lines up with active peer VOLT and comes in under FPWR at 0.96%.

Worth knowing

• GRID About 100 stocks in one theme tied to utility and industrial capex. When grid spending cools, the portfolio has nowhere else to be.ftportfolios.com
• Global by design, so non-US market moves and currency swings ride along with the grid story.ftportfolios.com
• Clean Edge decides what counts as a grid company. Membership resets semiannually with quarterly rebalances, so the lineup can shift under you.cleanedge.comnasdaq.com

• POW Index-based rivals cost less: ELFY and ZAP at 0.50%, GRID at 0.56%. You pay up here for the active, supply-chain-first build.
• One theme, roughly 60 names, no utility ballast. It trades on the electrification story and can swing hard in both directions.
• Launched in 2025, so the live record is short, and it sits toward the back of its electrification peer group in our review.

Full GRID profile⁠

Full POW profile⁠