IEO vs XOP

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

XOPAState Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production 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.

XOP Most oil funds lean hard on a couple of supermajors. XOP goes the other way: a modified equal-weighted basket of roughly 50 drillers, refiners and producers, reset every quarter, so a small-cap operator can count about as much as a giant. 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.

XOP The fund seeks, before fees and expenses, to track the total return performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index.

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.

• XOP Modified equal weighting, reset quarterly, means no single supermajor dominates and large, mid and small-cap names sit side by side.ssga.comspglobal.com
• A 0.35% expense ratio, below the typical charge among oil and gas E&P peers.
• Actively traded, and one of the smoother tickers to get into and out of in the energy aisle.
• Wider net than the name suggests: the index also reaches integrated oil and gas plus refining and marketing companies, not just pure explorers.ssga.com

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.

• XOP Equal weighting lifts smaller drillers in the mix, so swings in both directions tend to run sharper than in cap-weighted energy funds.ssga.com
• One industry, one commodity complex: this rides crude and natural gas, with about 50 holdings and no ballast from outside the patch.
• Cheaper shelfmates exist. Peer PBOG lists a 0.13% expense ratio, though it tracks a different index and a different mix of names.

Full IEO profile⁠

Full XOP profile⁠