The First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG) was launched on 05/08/2007, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Energy - Natural Gas segment of the equity market.
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options 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 $336.35 million, making it one of the larger 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 3.54%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Energy sector--about 97.50% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Eqt Corporation (EQT) accounts for about 4.95% of total assets, followed by Conocophillips (COP) and Expand Energy Corporation (EXE).
The top 10 holdings account for about 43.65% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -7.36% so far this year and is down about -15.47% in the last one year (as of 05/21/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $19.37 and $27.63.
The ETF has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 32.30% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 42 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.
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First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG): ETF Research Reports ConocoPhillips (COP): Free Stock Analysis Report EQT Corporation (EQT): Free Stock Analysis Report Expand Energy Corporation (EXE): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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