NFRA vs WUGI

NFRAANorthern Trust STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure ETF

WUGIFAXS Esoterica NextG Economy 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.

WUGI Most infrastructure funds buy bridges and pipelines by index. WUGI goes the other way: an active, non-diversified basket of roughly 27 global names in the 5G digital economy, run since its 2020 launch by the shop that built it.

Stated mandate

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

WUGI The Fund seeks capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio focused on domestic and foreign companies connected to the 5G-enabled digital economy, including infrastructure, edge devices, and related services.

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.

• WUGI No index to hug. The managers pick roughly 27 companies across 5G infrastructure, edge devices and related services, spanning US and foreign stocks of any size.sec.gov
• Continuity at the helm: Esoterica Capital, the boutique that launched the fund in 2020, still runs the portfolio as sub-advisor under the AXS banner.axsinvestments.comsec.gov
• A contractual waiver does real work here: 0.84% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027, against a 1.46% gross expense ratio.

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.

• WUGI Even at 0.84% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027, the fee sits above the category median, and index peers cost far less: IFRA at 0.30%, PAVE at 0.47%.
• Non-diversified by design, so a handful of top names drive the result and swings run wider than a broad infrastructure basket.sec.gov
• A small, thinly traded fund that distributes once or twice a year, so trading costs and execution matter more than with the category's giants.

Full NFRA profile⁠

Full WUGI profile⁠