IBAT vs PBW

IBATBiShares Energy Storage & Materials ETF

PBWCInvesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF

In short

IBAT Most EV funds buy carmakers. IBAT drops a layer down the supply chain to the batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells and storage materials underneath, tracking a global STOXX index at a fee that undercuts much of its thematic peer group.

PBW The original clean energy ETF, listed back in 2005. Its index weights names evenly within each sector and caps any one stock at 4% at the quarterly rebalance, so small pure-plays get real say. Costs 0.63%, near the category median.

Stated mandate

IBAT The fund seeks to track an index of global companies involved in battery technologies, hydrogen, fuel cells, and other energy-storage solutions. It provides targeted exposure to companies supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

PBW The fund seeks to track the investment results of the WilderHill Clean Energy Index before fees and expenses. It normally invests at least 90% of total assets in common stocks comprising the index.

Why people hold it

• IBAT 0.47% a year, cheaper than Global X's DRIV (0.68%) and Amplify's BATT (0.59%).
• Buys the storage layer, not the showroom: battery technology, hydrogen, fuel cells and the materials that feed them.ishares.com
• Global mandate, roughly 80 holdings: miners, chemical firms and equipment makers a US large-cap index never touches.
• Sits in the upper tier of its battery and EV thematic group on our review.

• PBW Listed in March 2005, it is the elder of the clean energy group, with two decades of history across the theme's booms and busts.
• Modified equal-dollar weighting: holdings sit evenly within their sector and no single name may exceed 4% at the quarterly rebalance, so a few giants cannot run the show.wildershares.com
• About 70 US-listed clean energy names, with the index reset every March, June, September and December, which trims the quarter's winners and re-ups the laggards.wildershares.com
• One of the more actively traded funds in its category, and it pays distributions quarterly.

Worth knowing

• IBAT One theme, one supply chain. Battery and materials demand drives the whole basket in the same direction at the same time.
• BlackRock applies business involvement screens, so the portfolio is a filtered slice of the industry rather than the full map.ishares.com
• Launched in 2024, so the record is short and payouts come once or twice a year at most. Not an income holding.

• PBW At 0.63% it lands near the category median, though index rivals run cheaper: ICLN charges 0.38%, FRNW 0.39%.
• Equal weighting inside each sector pushes money down the cap scale, so small pure-plays swing this portfolio far more than they would in a market-cap-weighted clean energy fund.wildershares.com
• The roster is set by qualitative calls at each quarterly rebalance (relevance to climate change, pollution prevention, technological significance), not a purely numeric screen.wildershares.com

Full IBAT profile⁠

Full PBW profile⁠