ILIT vs REXC

ILITBiShares Lithium Miners and Producers ETF

REXCDSprott Rare Earths Ex-China ETF

In short

ILIT Most lithium funds blend miners with EV makers and battery tech. ILIT stays at the source: an index of global companies whose main business is digging lithium ore or making lithium compounds, about 40 names, for 0.47% a year.

REXC Rare earths, with China screened out. REXC tracks a Nasdaq index built around rare earth miners and processors outside China, the focused cut of Sprott's critical-materials lineup.

Stated mandate

ILIT ILIT aims to replicate an index of U.S. and non-U.S. equity issuers whose principal activities are lithium-ore mining or lithium-compound manufacturing.

REXC The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Nasdaq Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China Index.

Why people hold it

• ILIT Straight to the rock. The index holds only firms whose principal business is lithium-ore mining or lithium-compound manufacturing, so EV assemblers and electronics names stay out.ishares.com
• 0.47% a year undercuts most of the critical-materials shelf, including SETM (0.65%) and EART (0.59%).
• Rules-based and transparent: it replicates the STOXX Global Lithium Miners and Producers Index (STXLIMEV) rather than a manager's stock picks.
• Global by design. The mandate spans US, developed international and emerging market issuers instead of stopping at the US border.

• REXC The screen is the whole idea: it tracks the Nasdaq Sprott Rare Earths Ex-China Index, making it a direct expression of the non-China supply chain rather than the sector at large.
• Plain plumbing. A standard 1940 Act index fund following a published Nasdaq benchmark: no leverage, no derivatives overlay, no active stock picking.
• Built by a metals-and-mining specialist house. REXC is the narrow rare earths cut of the same shelf that holds Sprott's broader critical materials fund, SETM.

Worth knowing

• ILIT Small asset base and light trading volume, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on the big diversified mining funds.
• One metal, roughly 40 stocks. Lithium-linked shares have been a volatile ride, and a portfolio this concentrated feels every move in the metal.
• Launched in 2023, so the track record is short, and cash distributions land only once or twice a year.

• REXC The fee is 0.65% a year, matching the typical critical-materials fund, while wider-net rare earth peers REMX and EART list lower expense ratios.
• Launched in 2026, so there is only a short record to judge how tightly it follows its index or how it trades under stress.
• Rare earths is a narrow, policy-driven corner of mining, and the ex-China rule shrinks the pool further, so a few names and jurisdictions can drive the ride.

Full ILIT profile⁠

Full REXC profile⁠