NICO vs PAWZ

NICODHexis Active Nicotine Engagement ETF

PAWZCProShares Pet Care ETF

In short

NICO Most staples funds own tobacco as a sliver next to soap and soda. This one makes it the whole trade: active management, a global mandate, and at least 80% of assets in tobacco and nicotine companies.

PAWZ One ticker for the pet economy: vet clinics, kibble makers, animal-health labs, the retailers that ship it all. PAWZ has tracked the FactSet Pet Care Index, globally, since 2018.

Stated mandate

NICO The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through active management, normally investing at least 80% of net assets in companies engaged in the global tobacco and nicotine sectors.

PAWZ The fund invests globally in companies positioned at the forefront of the pet care industry.

Why people hold it

• NICO Pure-play by design: at least 80% of net assets go to global tobacco and nicotine names, not a slice of a diversified staples basket.
• Actively managed rather than index-tracking, with a global remit, so the manager can pick across markets instead of following a fixed weighting.
• Standard 1940 Act ETF plumbing: it trades like any ordinary stock fund, and shareholders get a 1099 rather than a K-1.sec.gov

• PAWZ Costs 0.50% a year, under the 0.65% median for its consumer-lifestyle peer group. Cheap for a niche theme fund, where 0.60%-plus is the norm.
• Buys the whole pet supply chain, not one slice: the mandate is global companies at the forefront of pet care, set by the FactSet Pet Care Index rather than a manager's hunches.proshares.com
• Running since 2018 and priced level with the strongest names in its cohort (MILN at 0.50%), it sits in the upper half of that peer group on our review.

Worth knowing

• NICO 0.70% a year is the price of active, single-theme access; the broad staples index funds in its group (XLP, VDC, FSTA) charge under a tenth of a percent.
• A small, thinly traded fund since its 2026 launch, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on the giant staples funds.
• Income is not the mandate here: the objective is long-term capital appreciation, and regular payouts have not been a feature of the fund.

• PAWZ Thinly traded. On a given trade the bid-ask spread can cost more than a year of the expense ratio, so how you place the order matters.
• Around two dozen holdings. Concentration is the point of a theme fund and also the risk: one company's news can swing the whole basket.
• A small fund with a global mandate, so expect foreign listings, currency movement, and an asset base that keeps it off most institutional buy lists.

Full NICO profile⁠

Full PAWZ profile⁠