Do QCLN and SMOG hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 26% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.

Which is more different from the S&P 500, QCLN or SMOG?

QCLN has 34% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SMOG has 20%, so QCLN differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, QCLN or SMOG?

QCLN charges 0.59% a year and SMOG charges 0.64%, so QCLN is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

QCLN vs SMOG: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QCLN returned +1.6% to SMOG's +2.7%; 26% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $489m for First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund and $126m for VanEck Low Carbon Energy ETF.

QCLN on its own →SMOG on its own →

At a glance

33.5%

QCLN in the S&P 500

20.0%

SMOG in the S&P 500

+1.6%

QCLN total return, 1 year

+2.7%

SMOG total return, 1 year

QCLN · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 67% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

34% of QCLN's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 67% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.

SMOG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 80% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

20% of SMOG's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 80% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 2, 2026.

Pair scorecard

QCLN costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.1 points; QCLN is 3.9 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QCLN vs SMOG: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	QCLN	SMOG
Return
Measure	QCLN	SMOG
Total return, 1 year	+1.6%	+2.7%
Drawdown
Measure	QCLN	SMOG
Below its all-time high	47.7%, high on Feb 9, 2021	24.9%, high on Jan 22, 2021
Against its benchmark
Measure	QCLN	SMOG
What it tracks	Clean energy	Clean energy
Its benchmark, total return, 1 year	+14.8%	+15.0%
Against its benchmark, 1 year	behind by 13.2 pts	behind by 12.3 pts
Cost and size
Measure	QCLN	SMOG
Expense ratio	0.59%	0.64%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$489m	$126m
Holdings
Measure	QCLN	SMOG
Holdings in common	26%

Method

Risk and return

May 18, 2007 to Oct 30, 2026 · 1,015 weekly returns

QCLN SMOG

Return

Total return edge QCLN +119.3% +30.3%

Annualized edge QCLN +4.1% +1.4%

Price return edge QCLN +99.1% +7.8%

Risk

Volatility edge SMOG 34.6% 30.2%

Max drawdown edge QCLN −73.4% −83.8%

Downside capture 127.5% 119.9%

Beta 1.50 1.34

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge QCLN 0.25 0.15

Sortino edge QCLN 0.35 0.20

Treynor 0.057 0.022

Calmar edge QCLN 0.06 0.02

Against the benchmark

Alpha −6.4% a year −7.9% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.36 −2.08

Information ratio −0.06 −0.29

Tracking error 22.8% 17.4%

Each against its own benchmark: QCLN against IWV, Feb 23, 2007 to Oct 30, 2026; SMOG against ACWI, Apr 4, 2008 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From May 2007 to Oct 2026, QCLN returned more: +119.3% to +30.3%. SMOG swung less: 30.2% to 34.6%. QCLN fell less at its worst: −73.4% to −83.8%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: QCLN vs SMOG: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	QCLN	SMOG	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+119.3%	+30.3%	QCLN	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.1%	+1.4%	QCLN	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+99.1%	+7.8%	QCLN	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	34.6%	30.2%	SMOG	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	24.3%	22.1%	SMOG (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−73.4%	−83.8%	QCLN	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	173.8%	132.8%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	127.5%	119.9%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.50	1.34	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.63	0.70	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.25	0.15	QCLN	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.35	0.20	QCLN	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.057	0.022		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.06	0.02	QCLN	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	ACWI		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−6.4% a year	−7.9% a year	QCLN not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.36	−2.08	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−15.7% to +2.9%	−15.3% to −0.4%	QCLN includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.06	−0.29		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	22.8%	17.4%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,015 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

26%

By the books each fund has filed, QCLN and SMOG hold 26% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

26% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QCLN SMOG

Tesla, Inc. 9.29% 9.28%

Bloom Energy Corporation (Class A) 8.90% 5.10%

First Solar, Inc. 3.95% 2.90%

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (Class A) 6.42% 2.74%

Nextpower Inc. (Class A) 5.02% 1.87%

Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd. 3.27% 1.10%

EnerSys 2.19% 0.94%

Ormat Technologies, Inc. 2.09% 0.91%

HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. 1.78% 0.61%

Enphase Energy, Inc. 1.45% 0.60%

Sunrun Inc. 0.76% 0.30%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in QCLN

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 8.99%

ON Semiconductor Corporation 8.41%

Acuity Inc. 3.58%

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. 3.45%

Brookfield Renewable Partners LP 3.29%

Albemarle Corporation 2.87%

MP Materials Corp. 2.43%

Allegro Microsystems, Inc. 2.27%

Only in SMOG

Iberdrola Sa 9.10%

Nextera Energy Inc 7.64%

Enel Spa 6.99%

Byd Co Ltd 5.17%

Vestas Wind Systems A/S 4.72%

Samsung Sdi Co Ltd 4.13%

Kingspan Group Plc 2.99%

Axia Energia Sa 2.92%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: QCLN vs SMOG: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	QCLN	SMOG	QCLN	SMOG
3 months	−11.9%	−2.8%	−11.6 pts vs IWV	−1.5 pts vs ACWI
6 months	−25.1%	−13.7%	−30.0 pts vs IWV	−16.3 pts vs ACWI
1 year	+1.6%	+2.7%	−13.2 pts vs IWV	−12.3 pts vs ACWI
3 years	+27.3%	+40.4%	−53.7 pts vs IWV	−37.2 pts vs ACWI
Since launchNot the same days: QCLN Feb 2007 · SMOG May 2007	+149.5%	+35.1%	not measured	not measured

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Side by side

QCLN First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund · Holds 57 stocks in clean energy, 34% of its weight in S&P 500 companies SMOG VanEck Low Carbon Energy ETF · Holds 55 stocks in clean energy, 20% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer First Trust VanEck

Theme Clean energy Clean energy

In the S&P 500 33.5% 20.0%

Active share vs the S&P 500 97.9% 97.8%

In the Nasdaq-100 18.3% 9.4%

Holdings 57 55

Top ten, share of the fund 61.3% 58.2%

Expense ratio 0.59% 0.64%

Fee for the differing part 0.60% 0.65%

Total return, 1 year +1.6% +2.7%

vs its benchmark −13.2 pts vs IWV −12.3 pts vs ACWI

Below its high −47.7% −24.9%

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $489m $126m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

26% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Client brief:

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About each fund

QCLN

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested against +14.8% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index, so a holder was behind by 13.2 pts.

By weight, 34% of QCLN's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 61% of the fund across 57 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026. It sits 47.7% below its all-time high of Feb 9, 2021.

SMOG

By weight, 20% of SMOG's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 58% of the fund across 55 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned +2.7% with distributions reinvested against +15.0% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, so a holder was behind by 12.3 pts. It sits 24.9% below its all-time high of Jan 22, 2021.

Questions people ask

Do QCLN and SMOG hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 26% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, QCLN or SMOG?: QCLN has 34% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SMOG has 20%, so QCLN differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, QCLN or SMOG?: QCLN charges 0.59% a year and SMOG charges 0.64%, so QCLN is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QCLN vs ACES QCLN vs CNRG QCLN vs FRNW QCLN vs HYDR SMOG vs ICLN SMOG vs HYDR SMOG vs CCSO SMOG vs CTEC

Where to next

All thematic ETFs ranked by the S&P 500 Difference Score →How the scores are computed →QCLN on its own →SMOG on its own →QCLN dividend history →QCLN holdings →SMOG dividend history →SMOG holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

QCLN filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QCLN prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for QCLN ↗

SMOG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SMOG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

VanEck website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, QCLN against SMOG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/qcln-vs-smog

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