Tortoise Capital Advisors, a Kansas-based money manager specializing in energy investments, introduced its first exchange traded fund today, the Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund (NYSEArca: TPYP).
Passively managed, the Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund tracks the Tortoise North American Pipeline Index. That is an in-house index as Tortoise also announced the debut of “Tortoise Index Solutions, LLC, a registered investment advisor and index developer that provides research-driven indices, exchange-traded products and thought leadership in the universe of essential assets. Tortoise’s suite of indices represents different sectors of the broader North American energy sector, using proprietary, research-driven and rules-based methodologies. Currently, Tortoise Index Solutions offers three indices on a price and total return basis: Tortoise MLP Index (TMLP/TMLPT), Tortoise North American Pipeline Index (TNAP/TNAPT), and Tortoise Oil & Gas Producers Index (TNEP/TNEPT),” according to a statement.
The Tortoise North American Pipeline Index is a float-adjusted, cap-weighted index comprised of U.S. and Canadian pipeline firms. The index is home to 102 companies with an average market value of nearly $7.4 billion, according to Tortoise data.
TPYP, the new ETF, also holds 102 stocks with weights ranging from 0.004% to 8.5%. Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB), currently the subject of rampant takeover talk, is the new ETF’s largest holding. Other top five holdings include Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), TransCanada (NYSE: TRP), Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) and Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE). [MLP ETF Rises on Williams Takover Rumor]
“We believe TPYP provides investors a quality way to access both pipeline companies and pipeline MLPs through a passive strategy. We created this fund based on what we perceived as a need in the market for an ETF that not only provides access to the full universe of North American pipeline companies, but does so in a way that more fully captures the total return potential of these assets,” said Tortoise Vice President Jeremy Goff in the statement.