IGE vs MLPI

IGEAiShares North American Natural Resources ETF

MLPI—MLP & Energy Infrastructure High Income ETF

In short

IGE A 2001-vintage way to own the stuff the economy digs up and drills for: US and Canadian energy, metals, miners and timber in one market-cap-weighted basket, priced below the natural-resources average.

MLPI Midstream income without the April paperwork. MLPI owns North American energy infrastructure names, keeps MLPs to a slice of the index so shareholders get a 1099 instead of K-1s, and sells calls on MLP ETFs for monthly cash.

Stated mandate

IGE The fund seeks to follow an index representing North American equities in the natural-resources sector.

MLPI The Fund seeks high monthly income with potential equity appreciation by investing in MLPs and energy infrastructure companies and using a data-driven call-option strategy.

Why people hold it

• IGE Launched in October 2001, one of the longest-running natural-resources ETFs on the tape, with several full commodity cycles behind it.investing.com
• 0.37% a year sits under the natural-resources cohort median of 0.41%, and well under GUNR's 0.47%.
• About 150 names spanning oil and gas, metals and mining, and paper and forest products, so it reaches past the usual oil-major shortlist.investing.com
• Plain index tracking from iShares, distributions paid quarterly, and one of the stronger builds in its natural-resources peer group.ishares.com

• MLPI K-1 free by design: the reference index caps MLPs at 25% of its weight in aggregate, so the fund reports on a standard 1099 rather than partnership tax forms.sec.govneosfunds.com
• The calls are written on outside MLP ETFs, not on the fund's own stock positions, so the equity sleeve itself is not the thing being called away.sec.gov
• Pays monthly, stacking option premium on top of what the pipeline and LNG names in the portfolio distribute.neosfunds.com
• Concentration guardrails are written into the index: the top 25 names by free float, none above 10% of weight.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• IGE North America only. GNR and GUNR cast a global net, which picks up large overseas miners this one leaves on the table.
• Market-cap weighting hands the largest energy names the heaviest slots, and the basket rides the commodity cycle in both directions.
• Mid-sized and moderately traded rather than a mega-liquid giant, so spreads deserve a look on larger orders.

• MLPI At 0.68% a year it costs more than the typical fund in its natural resources peer group (IGE runs 0.37%, GNR 0.40%). Active management and the options work are the bill.
• Launched in December 2025, so there is no record yet across a full energy cycle.
• Premium income moves with volatility, payouts can include return of capital, and the MLP ETFs it writes calls against can move differently than the stocks it holds.sec.gov

Full IGE profile⁠

Full MLPI profile⁠