MDST vs XES

MDSTCWestwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF

XESBState Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services 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.

XES Oilfield services without the two giants calling the shots. XES tracks a modified equal-weight index of about 30 drillers and equipment makers, so mid- and small-caps carry real weight, and it has been doing that since 2006 at 0.35%.

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.

XES The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services Select Industry 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

• XES Modified equal weighting, reset each quarter, spreads the fund across roughly 30 drillers and equipment names rather than letting the sector's largest two dominate.ssga.comspglobal.com
• 0.35% a year, well under the median for its energy peer group and under PXJ's 0.67% in the same oil services niche.
• A clean services play: holdings come only from the oil and gas drilling and equipment and services sub-industries, not producers, refiners or pipelines.ssga.com
• Trading since 2006, through multiple drilling booms and busts, with distributions paid quarterly.

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

• XES About 30 stocks in one narrow, capex-driven industry, so moves tend to be sharper than a broad energy fund's.
• Equal weighting puts small and mid caps on the same footing as the majors, which cuts both ways on volatility.ssga.com
• A mid-sized fund with moderate trading rather than a category heavyweight, so execution costs matter more on larger orders.

Full MDST profile⁠

Full XES profile⁠