GRID vs VOLT

GRIDBFirst Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

VOLTCTema Electrification 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.

VOLT Most electrification funds hand the job to an index. VOLT is the stock-picker's version: an active, roughly 30-name global portfolio spanning power generation, grid equipment, software and storage.

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.

VOLT The Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in common and preferred stocks of publicly listed companies economically tied to global electrification. Eligible businesses may supply electrification or power-generation materials, equipment, software, associated services, or electricity storage.

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.

• VOLT Actively managed and concentrated at roughly 30 names, while shelf leaders ELFY and ZAP simply follow an index. A manager's calls drive the portfolio, for better or worse.temaetfs.orgalpsfunds.comglobalxetfs.com
• The mandate is wide: at least 80% of assets in companies tied to global electrification, from generation materials and equipment to software, services and electricity storage.
• Global by charter, so European and Asian grid and equipment names are in play. ZAP, the biggest passive rival, is limited to US-listed developed-market companies.globalxetfs.com

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

• VOLT The 0.75% fee matches the group median, but index-run rivals ELFY and ZAP charge 0.50%. Active stock picking is what you are paying the difference for.
• About 30 holdings means individual names carry real weight. Swings are bigger than a broad-basket electrification index fund.
• Launched December 2024, so the record is short, and it sits in the lower half of our electrification group. Payouts come once or twice a year.

Full GRID profile⁠

Full VOLT profile⁠