You’re only going to get hurt if you try to predict whiplashing oil prices and fragile ceasefires. Instead of doing that, you could buy into energy ETFs like the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (NYSEARCA:PBW), First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure (NYSEARCA:EMLP), and the Themes Uranium & Nuclear ETF (BATS:URAN).
These are energy ETFs that are not dependent on the Strait of Hormuz, and they can perform whether or not oil is at $60 or $130. These ETFs are not invested in direct “upstream” oil plays. You’re instead getting exposure to certain targeted sectors of the energy sector, like pipelines, shipping, and exploration, among others.
Building your energy exposure chunk-by-chunk instead of betting on crude oil itself or an oil producer is the smartest thing you can do today. The broader oil sector is set to grow, and geopolitics will make sure things work out your way in the end. Let’s take a look at each of these ETFs in detail and how they can keep rising.
Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW)
Clean energy is no longer forced onto the world, but it is now a necessity and a strategically smart choice. Oil is getting choked off and is expensive today. The mere risk of another conflict in the Middle East can keep shipping and oil/gas costs high for decades. For countries in Europe and across Asia, clean energy is the only route forward.
As the ESG trade lost popularity, clean energy was also seen as an overhyped sub-section of that. With hindsight, that has turned out to be a mistake, as clean energy will see far more demand over the coming years. The clean energy narrative initially gained steam after the oil crisis of the 1970s. This latest crisis will likely end up spurring a revival.
PBW is gaining from that already. It is up 118% in the past month. Most of the gains happened well before the current conflict, purely from organic demand alone.
PBW comes with a 0.64% expense ratio.
First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure (EMLP)
EMLP owns energy infrastructure companies instead of oil futures or a basket of drillers. The set includes natural gas and electric utilities, pipeline operators, renewable energy production, MLPs, and companies connected to power generation and transmission.
You’re basically getting the “picks and shovels” side of energy, and this is why EMLP went on to gain over 30% through 2024 and kept steady through 2025 despite oil prices falling significantly. It is up 15.7% year-to-date and hasn’t budged despite oil falling significantly post-ceasefire.
I expect the ETF to keep rallying or at least keep trading sideways. It holds a unique mix of pipelines, utilities, and the active nature lets it retreat into cash as necessary. In fact, the second-biggest holding is “USD Cash” at 7.22%.
You get a 2.72% dividend yield. The expense ratio is 0.95%, which is very reasonable for an active ETF.
Themes Uranium & Nuclear ETF (URAN)
URAN is a newer ETF that has surged 75% over the past year due to hyperscalers pouring massive amounts of money into data centers. As more data centers come online, the more pressure the grid will have to deal with. The government is already pushing AI and data center companies to secure their own energy supplies.
The best way they will be able to do this is by using nuclear power. There are small modular reactors (or SMRs) that data centers can use, and there are also large nuclear power projects under construction worldwide. Nuclear power is the best form of power that can give data centers a 24/7 steady supply of electricity. At least, that’s what the Department of Energy says. The DOE also estimates that data centers could consume up to 12% of total U.S. energy production in 2028.
Thus, I expect URAN to keep gaining in the coming years, especially as these data centers come online.
The expense ratio is 0.35%, and the dividend yield is 2.4%.