MLPX has also benefited from recent industry consolidation. Last month, units of Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB), the Oklahoma-based operator of a natural gas pipeline system that stretches from Texas into the Southeast and up through the mid-Atlantic region, surged on news the company will pay almost $6 billion for the 50% of Access Midstream Partners (NYSE: ACMP) it does not already own. Units of Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ), the master limited partnership with natural gas gathering and processing operations in the Marcellus and Utica shales, gained more than 7%. [MLP M&A News Lifts These ETFs]
Williams Cos. is MLPX’s largest holding at almost 10% while Williams Partners and Access Midstream combine for nearly 2% of the fund’s weight. In another sign of MLPX’s strength, four of the ETF’s top-five holdings, a group that combines for about 41% of the ETF’s weight, have posted double-digit returns this year.
Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.