MDST vs MLPX

MDSTCWestwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF

MLPXBGlobal X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF

In short

MDST Midstream pipelines already throw off cash. MDST layers a covered call overlay on an actively picked pipeline and MLP book, then pays it out monthly, in a 1099 wrapper instead of the MLP K-1 shuffle.

MLPX A focused bet on the toll roads of American energy: roughly 30 pipeline and infrastructure names tracking the Solactive MLP & Energy Infrastructure Index, running since 2013 at 0.45% a year.

Stated mandate

MDST The Fund seeks income by investing at least 80% of its net assets, including certain investment-purpose borrowings, in securities of North American midstream corporations and U.S. master limited partnerships.

MLPX The fund seeks to provide investment results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the price and yield performance of the Solactive MLP & Energy Infrastructure Index.

Why people hold it

• MDST Two income engines, one ticker: distributions from pipelines and MLPs, plus premium collected from writing calls on holdings. Cash goes out monthly.gcs-web.com
• Caps direct MLP holdings at 25% of assets, so shareholders get a 1099 and skip K-1 forms; part of each payout can be return of capital.dividend.comwestwoodgroup.com
• Actively run, not index-shadowing: Westwood's team picks the midstream names and runs the option overlay, with at least 80% in North American midstream and US MLPs.westwoodgroup.com

• MLPX 0.45% a year, against a peer-group median near 0.79% for energy sector ETFs. Cheap shelf space for a narrow corner of the market.
• Concentrated on purpose: around 30 pipeline and energy infrastructure names via the Solactive MLP & Energy Infrastructure Index, so the midstream theme isn't watered down.
• Trading since 2013 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund with steady volume, which tends to keep spreads manageable on retail-size orders.
• Distributions land on a quarterly schedule, so the payout rhythm is predictable even as the amounts move with the underlying cash flows.

Worth knowing

• MDST Costs 0.80% a year. That is about the energy-cohort median, but roughly double an index-built midstream fund like MLPX at 0.45%.
• Calls written on holdings swap upside for premium: when those pipelines rip, the capped positions do not come along for the whole ride.gcs-web.com
• Launched in 2024, non-diversified, and concentrated in one industry, so the record is short and the ride is sector-shaped.westwoodgroup.com

• MLPX One sector, one theme. Energy infrastructure rides commodity cycles and rate moves, so it can travel well out of step with a broad market fund.
• With around 30 holdings, individual pipeline operators carry real weight and one company's news can move the whole fund.
• Not the cheapest ticket in the cohort: XES charges 0.35%, though it buys oil services companies rather than midstream infrastructure.

Full MDST profile⁠

Full MLPX profile⁠