USG vs. NIE

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund (USG) and Virtus Equity & Convertible Income Fund (NIE).

USG is an actively managed fund by USCF. It was launched on Nov 2, 2021. NIE is an actively managed fund by Virtus. It was launched on Feb 27, 2007.

Performance

USG vs. NIE - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund (USG) and Virtus Equity & Convertible Income Fund (NIE). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

USG vs. NIE - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021
USG USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund	6.85%	52.02%	23.70%	8.49%	2.12%	3.12%
NIE Virtus Equity & Convertible Income Fund	-4.30%	12.15%	28.64%	26.71%	-26.73%	3.20%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, USG achieves a 6.85% return, which is significantly higher than NIE's -4.30% return.

USG

• 1D: 3.71%
• 1M: -11.39%
• YTD: 6.85%
• 6M: 19.90%
• 1Y: 36.98%
• 3Y*: 28.37%
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

NIE

• 1D: 1.88%
• 1M: -6.11%
• YTD: -4.30%
• 6M: -1.10%
• 1Y: 16.95%
• 3Y*: 16.50%
• 5Y*: 8.54%
• 10Y*: 12.87%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

USG vs. NIE - Expense Ratio Comparison

USG has a 0.45% expense ratio, which is lower than NIE's 1.12% expense ratio.

NIE

Virtus Equity & Convertible Income Fund

USG

USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund

Return for Risk

USG vs. NIE — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

USG

USG Risk / Return Rank: 83
USG Sharpe Ratio Rank: 83
USG Sortino Ratio Rank: 80
USG Omega Ratio Rank: 80
USG Calmar Ratio Rank: 84
USG Martin Ratio Rank: 86

NIE

NIE Risk / Return Rank: 57
NIE Sharpe Ratio Rank: 50
NIE Sortino Ratio Rank: 53
NIE Omega Ratio Rank: 60
NIE Calmar Ratio Rank: 56
NIE Martin Ratio Rank: 64

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

USG vs. NIE - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund (USG) and Virtus Equity & Convertible Income Fund (NIE). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	USG	NIE	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.55	0.97	+0.59
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.03	1.45	+0.58
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.31	1.23	+0.08
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	2.10	1.33	+0.78
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	9.03	6.09	+2.94
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

USG vs. NIE - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current USG Sharpe Ratio is 1.55, which is higher than the NIE Sharpe Ratio of 0.97. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of USG and NIE, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	USG	NIE	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.55	0.97	+0.59
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	—	0.49	—
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	—	0.65	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	1.34	0.41	+0.93

Correlation

The correlation between USG and NIE is 0.07, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

USG vs. NIE - Dividend Comparison

USG's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 25.77%, more than NIE's 10.81% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
USG USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund	25.77%	27.33%	7.48%	8.16%	2.85%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
NIE Virtus Equity & Convertible Income Fund	10.81%	10.14%	8.11%	9.56%	21.81%	10.86%	5.37%	6.71%	8.20%	7.19%	8.25%	8.46%

Drawdowns

USG vs. NIE - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum USG drawdown since its inception was -18.35%, smaller than the maximum NIE drawdown of -57.90%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for USG and NIE.

Drawdown Indicators

	USG	NIE	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-18.35%	-57.90%	+39.55%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-18.35%	-12.51%	-5.84%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	—	-31.04%	—
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	—	-38.99%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-12.69%	-7.16%	-5.53%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-4.01%	-8.07%	+4.06%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	4.27%	2.73%	+1.54%

Volatility

USG vs. NIE - Volatility Comparison

USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund (USG) has a higher volatility of 10.63% compared to Virtus Equity & Convertible Income Fund (NIE) at 5.04%. This indicates that USG's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than NIE based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	USG	NIE	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	10.63%	5.04%	+5.59%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	20.81%	8.48%	+12.33%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	23.94%	17.63%	+6.31%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	15.64%	17.53%	-1.89%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	15.64%	19.71%	-4.07%