Dj Cfo Stein Acquires 7594 Of Hess Midstream Lp >Hesm

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Energy - Natural Gas segment of the equity market, look no further than the First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/08/2007.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Energy - Natural Gas is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 16, placing it in bottom 0%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $377.86 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Energy - Natural Gas segment of the equity market. FCG seeks to match the performance of the ISE-REVERE Natural Gas Index before fees and expenses.

The ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index is an equal-weighted index comprised of exchange-listed companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenues from the exploration and production of natural gas.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.60%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.06%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Energy sector--about 97.90% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Western Midstream Partners Lp (WES) accounts for about 4.67% of total assets, followed by Hess Midstream Lp (class A) (HESM) and Conocophillips (COP).

The top 10 holdings account for about 41.35% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 6.74% and it's up approximately 6.24% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/12/2024), respectively. FCG has traded between $22.62 and $28.34 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.79 and standard deviation of 33.51% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 45 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust Natural Gas ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FCG is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Energy ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

Range Global LNG Ecosystem Index ETF (LNGZ) tracks RANGE GLOBAL LNG ECOSYSTEM INDEX and the Roundhill Alerian LNG ETF (LNGG) tracks ALERIAN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS INDEX. Range Global LNG Ecosystem Index ETF has $0.57 million in assets, Roundhill Alerian LNG ETF has $1.27 million. LNGZ has an expense ratio of 0.85% and LNGG charges 0.65%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

Zacks Investment Research

Making its debut on 05/08/2007, smart beta exchange traded fund First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG) provides investors broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $354.02 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Energy ETFs. FCG is managed by First Trust Advisors. FCG seeks to match the performance of the ISE-REVERE Natural Gas Index before fees and expenses.

The ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index is an equal-weighted index comprised of exchange-listed companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenues from the exploration and production of natural gas.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for FCG are 0.60%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

FCG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.25%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

Representing 97.80% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector.

Looking at individual holdings, Western Midstream Partners Lp (WES) accounts for about 4.67% of total assets, followed by Hess Midstream Lp (class A) (HESM) and Conocophillips (COP).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 41.35% of FCG's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the First Trust Natural Gas ETF return is roughly 0.69% so far, and is down about -7.30% over the last 12 months (as of 11/06/2024). FCG has traded between $22.62 and $28.34 in this past 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 1.79 and standard deviation of 33.53% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FCG a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 45 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust Natural Gas ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Range Global LNG Ecosystem Index ETF (LNGZ) tracks RANGE GLOBAL LNG ECOSYSTEM INDEX and the Roundhill Alerian LNG ETF (LNGG) tracks ALERIAN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS INDEX. Range Global LNG Ecosystem Index ETF has $0.54 million in assets, Roundhill Alerian LNG ETF has $1.23 million. LNGZ has an expense ratio of 0.85% and LNGG charges 0.65%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Energy ETFs.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

Zacks Investment Research