Water ETFs: what each one holds
See every water ETF by what it holds, not by its name. Funds that hold water utilities, pipe and pump makers, and the treatment and testing businesses around them. 6 funds, largest first. Updated Oct 21, 2026. The typical fund carries 36% of its weight in S&P 500 names, the 20th most of the 53 themes with filed books.
The short answers
What these funds actually own
Between them the 6 funds' ten largest holdings name 33 companies, of which 12 appear in more than one. Ecolab Inc is among the ten largest of 5 of them, at an average of 6.3% of the fund.
Water ETFs, the companies their ten largest holdings name. Source: each fund's latest SEC filing or its issuer’s own daily holdings file, read by ETFIQ.
How this is counted
The 15 most widely held of 33. Each row counts the ten largest holdings of each fund, so a fund missing from a row may still hold that company lower down. Weights are of the funds that name it, not of the theme.
Share of each fund's weight in S&P 500 companies. Above half, the fund is mostly the S&P 500.
White marker is the S&P 500 over the same days, +16.4%, for reference. Last column is the gap to the fund's own benchmark, in points.
The 6 largest water ETFs
ETFIQ covers 6 water ETFs. The largest are PHO ($2.0bn), FIW ($1.8bn) and CGW ($1.0bn); fees run 0.40% to 0.75%, as of .
Every water ETF, largest first
Click a column to sortPoints (pts) are percentage points.
| Ticker | Fund | Issuer | Net assets ↓ | In the S&P 500 | Active share | Total return 1Y | vs its benchmark 1Y | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHO | Invesco Water Resources ETF → | Invesco | $2.0bn | 62.2% | 99.4% | −4.5% | not measured | 0.59% |
| FIW | First Trust Water ETF → | First Trust | $1.8bn | 48.9% | 99.4% | −5.7% | −21.4 pts vs IWV | 0.50% |
| CGW | Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF → | Invesco | $1.0bn | 27.8% | 99.8% | +0.3% | −13.4 pts vs EFA | 0.58% |
| PIO | Invesco Global Water ETF → | Invesco | $270m | 39.4% | 99.5% | −2.4% | −16.2 pts vs EFA | 0.75% |
| TBLU | Tortoise Global Water ETF → | Tortoise | $53m | 33.4% | 99.7% | −3.3% | −19.8 pts vs VOO | 0.40% |
| AQWA | Global X Clean Water ETF → | Global X | $20m | 25.4% | 99.9% | −5.7% | not measured | 0.50% |
How much of each pair is the same fund
The closest pair is FIW and PHO, which hold 75% of their weight in the same companies. The furthest apart is AQWA and PIO at 28%. The middle pair of the 15 is 42%.
Water ETFs, the share of each pair’s weight held in the same companies. Read across or down; the figure is the same either way. Cells are shaded against the closest pair here, 75%. Source: each fund’s own filed or daily holdings, read by ETFIQ.
How to read the grid
Weight overlap adds the smaller of the two weights for every company both funds hold. Funds with a cut-short book are left out, not compared short.
What each fund holds alone
The largest holding no other fund in the grid holds, and how much of the fund is in names none of the others own.
Water ETFs, the largest holding no other fund in the grid holds. Source: ETFIQ.
Questions people ask
- How many water ETFs are there?
- ETFIQ covers 6 US listed water ETFs as of Oct 21, 2026. That is every one it can measure from the fund’s own published holdings.
- What is the largest water ETF?
- PHO, Invesco Water Resources ETF, at $2.0bn in net assets as of Oct 20, 2026, the largest of the 6 water ETFs with a published size.
- What is the cheapest water ETF?
- TBLU, Tortoise Global Water ETF, at 0.40% a year by its prospectus filed Mar 30, 2026, the lowest fee of the 6 water ETFs that publish one.
- Which water ETF has performed best over the past year?
- CGW, Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF, at +0.3% total return over the year to Oct 21, 2026, the highest of the 6 water ETFs with a full year of trading behind them. Past returns do not predict future ones.
- What do water ETFs hold?
- Funds that hold water utilities, pipe and pump makers, and the treatment and testing businesses around them. Between them the 6 water ETFs ETFIQ can read name 33 companies in their ten largest holdings, by holdings dated May 31, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, most widely Ecolab Inc, which is among the ten largest of 5 of them.
- Do water ETFs hold the same companies?
- It depends which two. Across the 15 pairs of the 6 water ETFs with a full published book, by holdings dated May 31, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, FIW and PHO hold 75% of their weight in the same companies, AQWA and PIO hold 28%, and the middle pair holds 42%. Two funds sold on one theme are not the same fund.
What the issuers say about this theme
About these links
The issuers behind these water funds publish their own work on this theme. These are their pages and words, not ETFIQ’s. A fund company writing about a theme it sells is making a case.
Issuer material on this theme. Links leave ETFIQ. Source: each issuer’s own site.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. Standards and sources →
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<figure style="margin:0;max-width:640px">
<a href="https://etfiq.com/themes/water"><img src="https://etfiq.com/assistant/api/embed/theme/water.svg" alt="Water ETFs, one-year total return to Oct 21, 2026: CGW +0.3%, PIO −2.4%, TBLU −3.3%, PHO −4.5%, FIW −5.7%, AQWA −5.7%." width="640" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>
<figcaption style="font:13px/1.5 sans-serif">Water ETFs, one-year total return to Oct 21, 2026: CGW +0.3%, PIO −2.4%, TBLU −3.3%, PHO −4.5%, FIW −5.7%, AQWA −5.7%. Data: <a href="https://etfiq.com/themes/water">ETFIQ</a></figcaption>
</figure>Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, Water ETFs: what each one holds, data as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/themes/water
ETFIQ. (Oct 21, 2026). Water ETFs: what each one holds. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/themes/water
[Water ETFs: what each one holds (ETFIQ, Oct 21, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/themes/water)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data.