Should You Invest in the Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF (FUTY)?

The Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF (FUTY) was launched on October 21, 2013, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Utilities - Broad segment of the equity market.

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Utilities - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 15, placing it in bottom 6%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $2.29 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Utilities - Broad segment of the equity market. FUTY seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Utilities Index before fees and expenses.

The MSCI USA IMI Utilities Index represents the performance of the utilities sector in the U.S. equity market.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.08%, making it the least expensive product in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.69%.

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 Utilities sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.

The top 10 holdings account for about 51.88% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 3.34% so far this year and it's up approximately 3.76% in the last one year (as of 08/06/2026). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $53.43 and $61.44.

The ETF has a beta of 0.59 and standard deviation of 15.83% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 65 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FUTY is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF Shares (VPU) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index and the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) tracks Utilities Select Sector Index. Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF Shares has $8.32 billion in assets, State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF has $22.66 billion. VPU has an expense ratio of 0.09%, and XLU charges 0.08%.

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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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