NFRA vs UPGR

NFRAANorthern Trust STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure ETF

UPGRCXtrackers US Green Infrastructure Select Equity ETF

In short

NFRA Most global infrastructure funds stop at utilities and toll roads. NFRA's index goes wider, adding cell towers, data centers, hospitals, prisons and postal routes to the pipelines and railroads, across developed and emerging markets.

UPGR Clean energy, but wider. UPGR tracks a US-only index that reaches past solar panels into green mobility, green fuel and pollution control, and it charges less than every top-ranked fund in its peer group.

Stated mandate

NFRA The fund seeks to match, before fees and expenses, the performance of the STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index.

UPGR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the Solactive United States Green Infrastructure ESG Screened Index. It generally invests at least 80% of its assets in the index's component securities and at least 80% of net assets plus investment borrowings in equity securities of U.S. green-infrastructure companies.

Why people hold it

• NFRA Five supersectors in one wrapper: communications, energy, utilities, transportation and government outsourcing (hospitals, postal, correctional), across roughly 220 holdings.flexshares.com
• Charges 0.47% net (0.48% gross), net of a waiver through March 1, 2027, below the infrastructure category median.
• The index does real work: half of revenue must come from infrastructure, names must clear a $1 million daily-volume screen, and sector caps limit crowding. Rebalanced quarterly.flexshares.com
• Listed in 2013 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that pays quarterly, it sits among the stronger builds in its peer group.

• UPGR 0.35% a year, well under the roughly 0.59% typical for clean-energy ETFs and below peer leaders ICLN and FRNW at 0.39%.
• Wider net than solar and wind: the index spans green mobility, green fuel, green wholesale power, environmental services and pollution control.dws.com
• US-only by design, while category heavyweights like ICLN and FAN run global books.
• Straightforward mechanics: passive indexing, roughly 50 names, at least 80% of assets in the index's own components.

Worth knowing

• NFRA Cheaper options sit on the same shelf: IFRA at 0.30%, IGF at 0.37%, GII at 0.40%. Each tracks a different index with a different definition of infrastructure.
• Broad cuts both ways: telecoms, railroads and postal operators share the portfolio with utilities, so this is not a pure regulated-utility sleeve.flexshares.comflexshares.com 2
• Volume is moderate rather than heavy for the category, which can mean wider spreads on larger orders.

• UPGR Small asset base and thin trading, which tends to mean wider bid-ask spreads. Small funds also face a higher chance of being closed or merged away.
• One theme, one country. The issuer's own materials note results depend greatly on the condition of the green energy sector, and roughly 50 names concentrates that bet.dws.com
• The ESG screen is Solactive's definition of green, not yours, and a 2023 launch leaves a short record to judge.

Full NFRA profile⁠

Full UPGR profile⁠