IEO: An Underrated Oil ETF with a Nice Dividend, Too

IEO: An Underrated Oil ETF with a Nice Dividend, Too

With oil seemingly in an uptrend and stocks looking attractive, here’s why IEO could be a good way to invest in the sector. 

With just under $700 million in assets under management (AUM), IEO is a relatively small ETF from BlackRock’s iShares that launched in 2016. iShares says that IEO “gives investors exposure to U.S. companies that are engaged in the exploration, production, and distribution of oil and gas.” These exploration and production companies are also sometimes referred to as “upstream” energy companies.    

This makes IEO a particularly interesting way to play an uptick in oil prices, as these exploration and production companies tend to have more leverage to both the upside and downside of oil prices than their downstream and integrated peers.