MLPX vs XES

MLPXBGlobal X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF

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

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

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.

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 MLPX profile⁠

Full XES profile⁠