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Should You Invest in the First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG)?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Energy - Natural Gas segment of the equity market? You should consider the First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 8, 2007.

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 2, placing it in top 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $715.39 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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.59%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.24%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. 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 97.7% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Conocophillips (COP) accounts for about 4.66% of total assets, followed by Eog Resources, Inc. (EOG) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY).

The top 10 holdings account for about 42.11% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FCG has gained about 22.45%, and is up about 30.58% in the last one year (as of 06/01/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $21.95 and $32.74.

The ETF has a beta of 0.49 and standard deviation of 26.77% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 41 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust Natural Gas ETF sports a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. FCG, then, is not the best option for investors seeking exposure to the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are better ETFs in the space to consider.

Global X U.S. Natural Gas ETF (LNGX) tracks GLOBAL X U.S. NATURAL GAS INDEX. The fund has $53.29 million in assets. LNGX has an expense ratio of 0.45%.

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.

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