IEO vs IEZ

IEOBiShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF

IEZCiShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF

In short

IEO One of the original ways to own U.S. upstream energy: since 2006 this iShares fund has tracked a single index of about 50 American oil and gas exploration and production stocks. Pure upstream, pure U.S.

IEZ The picks-and-shovels corner of energy. IEZ owns the US equipment makers, drillers and service contractors that get paid when oil companies spend, rather than the producers pumping the barrels. Roughly 30 names, running since 2006.

Stated mandate

IEO The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. equities in the oil and gas exploration and production sector. It uses a sampling-based indexing approach and normally invests at least 80% of net assets in components of the Underlying Index.

IEZ The fund seeks to follow an index of U.S. companies operating in the oil equipment and services sector.

Why people hold it

• IEO Tight mandate: at least 80% of net assets sit in components of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. Upstream U.S. energy, not a mixed energy basket.ishares.com
• About 50 holdings: concentrated enough to move with drilling economics, broad enough that one blown-up producer is not the whole story.
• Trading since 2006, so its index record spans multiple oil cycles, with the iShares platform running the plumbing.
• Producer dividends are passed along on a quarterly schedule.

• IEZ Owns the service side of oil rather than the barrels: the index tracks US oil equipment and services companies, so the integrated majors most energy funds lean on sit outside it.ishares.com
• Live since 2006 under the iShares roof, with a multi-hundred-million-dollar asset base and active daily trading.
• Costs 0.37% a year, level with the typical fund in this energy cohort, and distributes quarterly.

Worth knowing

• IEO The 0.37% fee sits right at the middle of the E&P shelf: XOP and OIH charge 0.35%, PBOG 0.13%.
• One country, one sector, about 50 stocks. Crude and gas price swings pass straight through to the portfolio.
• Moderately traded rather than the busiest ticker in the category, which can matter on larger orders.

• IEZ About 30 stocks in one cyclical niche. Service and equipment revenue follows drilling budgets, so swings tend to run sharper than a broad energy fund's.
• Cheaper doors exist in the same cohort: OIH at 0.35% and PBOG at 0.13%, though each tracks a different slice of energy.
• On our overall read it lands in the lower half of its energy peer group, where several rivals chase similar ground under different index rules.

Full IEO profile⁠

Full IEZ profile⁠