WTI crude oil has surged from $55.44 in mid-December 2025 to nearly $93 in mid-March 2026, a recovery that has driven energy equities sharply higher. Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLE) is up 34% over the past year, VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSEARCA:OIH) has gained 57%, and Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:PBT) has more than doubled, rising 113%. But those three numbers tell very different stories about what each instrument actually does and who it serves.
Before going further: PBT is not an ETF. The article title groups these three together, but understanding the structural difference matters. XLE and OIH are exchange-traded funds holding baskets of energy company stocks. Permian Basin Royalty Trust is a statutory trust that holds royalty interests in Texas oil and gas properties. It does not manage a portfolio of equities. It collects a share of revenue from actual oil and gas production. That distinction shapes everything about how it behaves and who should own it.
XLE: The Broadest Entry Point Into Energy
Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) is the default choice for investors who want broad energy exposure without picking individual stocks. With $37.9 billion in assets and an expense ratio of just 0.08%, it is one of the most cost-efficient ways to own the energy sector.
The fund holds 25 positions spanning integrated majors, midstream pipelines, refiners, exploration and production companies, and oilfield services firms. That breadth is both its strength and its limitation. When oil prices rise, integrated majors like ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM | XOM Price Prediction) (23.9% of the fund) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) (17.4%) carry the portfolio. When refining margins expand, names like Valero and Marathon Petroleum contribute. The fund benefits from multiple energy sub-cycles simultaneously rather than betting on one.
The concentration at the top is real and consequential. ExxonMobil and Chevron together represent the majority of the portfolio, meaning XLE’s performance is heavily influenced by two companies. Investors who think they are getting diversified energy exposure are actually getting a large-cap integrated oil bet with some satellite positions around it. The 2.7% dividend yield adds an income layer that the other two options on this list do not reliably replicate.
XLE has delivered 34% over the past year and 34% year-to-date, with the recent oil price surge driving a 9% gain over the past month alone. For investors who want steady, low-cost energy exposure with a dividend, this is the cleanest option on the list.
OIH: A Concentrated Bet on Drilling Activity
VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH) takes a fundamentally different approach. Rather than owning the companies that produce oil, it owns the companies that help others find, drill, and extract it. That distinction makes OIH more sensitive to capital expenditure cycles in the energy industry than to oil prices directly.
When oil prices rise high enough that producers become confident about future returns, they increase drilling budgets. That spending flows directly to oilfield services companies. OIH captures that mechanism through a focused portfolio of 25 holdings concentrated in equipment manufacturers, pressure pumping companies, offshore drillers, and subsea specialists. SLB leads the fund at 19%, followed by Baker Hughes at 12% and Halliburton at 7%, with the remaining weight spread across smaller specialized operators in equipment manufacturing, offshore drilling, and subsea services.
The fund carries an expense ratio of 0.35% and $2.6 billion in assets, making it a fraction of XLE’s size. That smaller asset base combined with more volatile underlying holdings produces wider price swings. OIH has gained 57% over the past year, outpacing XLE meaningfully, but it also fell harder when oil prices were declining through 2025. The 10-year return is actually negative, a reminder that oilfield services companies have faced brutal margin compression during extended periods of low producer spending.
OIH is structured for investors who hold a specific view that the current oil price environment will sustain or increase producer capex budgets. The 1.3% dividend yield is modest, so the thesis here is almost entirely price appreciation tied to a drilling upcycle.
PBT: Royalty Income With Real Commodity Risk
Permian Basin Royalty Trust operates on a completely different logic. It does not hold company stocks. It holds royalty interests in producing oil and gas properties in Texas, which means it collects a share of revenue every time oil or gas comes out of the ground on those properties. There are no management teams to evaluate, no capital allocation decisions to second-guess. The trust simply passes through production revenue to unit holders as monthly distributions.
That simplicity is appealing, but the mechanics matter. The trust covers two main property groups: the Texas Royalty Properties and the Waddell Ranch properties. The Waddell Ranch properties are currently in an excess cost position, meaning accumulated operating costs exceed revenues there, so they are contributing zero to distributions until those excess costs are fully recovered with accrued interest. All current distributions flow from the Texas Royalty Properties alone.
The March 2026 distribution was $0.010662 per unit, down from $0.014221 in February. These are small monthly checks that reflect oil priced at $56.56 per barrel for the March production period, well below the current WTI spot price near $93. Distribution amounts will change as more recent production months flow through the trust’s accounting cycle.
There is also an active legal dispute worth understanding. SoftVest is pursuing litigation to lower the Trust Indenture amendment threshold from 75% to a simple majority, with a bench trial scheduled for May 8, 2026. The outcome could change how the trust is governed and potentially how it is wound down or restructured over time.
PBT has gained 113% over the past year, far outpacing both XLE and OIH on a price return basis. But that return has come almost entirely from price appreciation, not distribution income. Investors buying PBT today near $21 are paying for an asset whose income is directly tied to commodity prices and production volumes from aging Texas properties.
Choosing Between Them
XLE offers diversified, low-cost energy exposure backed by the largest companies in the sector, with a dividend yield that the other two do not reliably replicate.
OIH is more volatile and more directly tied to producer capital expenditure cycles. Its 10-year return is actually negative, a reminder of how brutal those cycles can be.
PBT is structurally distinct from either ETF. Its distributions depend on production volumes and oil prices from aging Texas properties rather than equity market dynamics, and the pending SoftVest litigation adds governance uncertainty that the other two do not carry.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks