MLPX vs PXJ

MLPXBGlobal X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF

PXJCInvesco Oil & Gas Services ETF

In short

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.

PXJ Oilfield services run through a quant filter: PXJ's index ranks drillers, equipment makers and service firms on momentum, quality and value, then holds about 30. Trading since 2005, at 0.63% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028.

Stated mandate

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.

PXJ The Fund tracks the Dynamic Oil Services Intellidex Index by normally investing at least 90% of total assets in its constituent common stocks. The index targets 30 U.S. companies supporting oil and gas production, processing, and distribution.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• PXJ Not a cap-weighted mirror. The index scores candidates on price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action and value, then reconstitutes four times a year.invesco.com
• Weight spreads across size tiers rather than piling into the biggest service names, leaving more room for mid- and small-cap drillers than a cap-weighted build.sec.gov
• Listed in 2005, it has traded through multiple drilling booms and busts, holding about 30 US companies that support oil and gas production, processing and distribution.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• PXJ 0.63% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028, near the energy-sector median. Gross is 0.77%, so the cost steps up if that waiver is not extended.
• Cheaper routes into the niche exist: XES charges 0.35%, with no waiver attached. The quant screen is what the difference buys.
• About 30 stocks in one cyclical industry, tracking drilling and completion budgets more than the broad energy complex, with moderate volume rather than mega-fund liquidity.

Full MLPX profile⁠

Full PXJ profile⁠