Lithium ETF alternative to build your own lithium and battery stocks index and backtest it against LIT
The biggest lithium fund puts almost a quarter of your money in Rio Tinto, an iron ore miner, and its third largest holding makes chip equipment. Another popular battery fund is mostly copper miners and car companies. Pick the lithium producers, developers and battery makers you actually want, set the weights, and see how the basket would have done next to LIT and the S&P 500. Then buy it at your own broker.
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In short
A lithium ETF alternative is a basket of lithium and battery stocks you weight yourself instead of taking a fund's rule. It matters because the funds with lithium in their name own very different things. Summing every holding, lithium miners and developers made up 99.7% of Sprott's LITP (October 16, 2026) and 57.5% of iShares' ILIT (June 30), but only 17.5% of Global X's LIT, whose largest holding was Rio Tinto at 23.1%, 6.9% of Amplify's BATT and 0.7% of iShares' IBAT. Building your own lithium and battery stocks index means choosing that mix, backtesting it, and buying the stocks at a broker with no expense ratio.
Summed from each fund's published holdings and SEC filings
How much of each lithium ETF is actually lithium?
Every holding sorted by what the company mainly sells. Black is lithium miners, refiners and developers. Grey is diversified miners that own a lithium business but earn most of their money elsewhere. Green is battery cell makers and battery materials. Blue is electric vehicle makers. Amber is everything else, from copper and nickel mines to industrial gases and fuel cells.
Sprott LITP
99.7% lithium
The only fund that is nearly all lithium, and the most small cap: 18 names under 1%
iShares ILIT
57.5% lithium
Lithium plus Chinese and Korean battery materials, 40.9% in China (June 30)
Global X LIT
17.5% lithium
Rio Tinto alone is 23.1%, and NAURA, a chip equipment maker, is 6.5%
Amplify BATT
6.9% lithium
Copper, nickel and other mining 44.1%, EV makers 20.7%
iShares IBAT
0.7% lithium
Chemicals, industrial gases, fuel cells and power equipment are 71.6% (July 31)
Start with LIT, because it is the fund most people buy and the one that surprises them most. On October 16 its largest holding was Rio Tinto at 23.1%. Rio bought Arcadium Lithium, so it does own a real lithium business, but iron ore is what pays Rio's bills, and a lithium fund that is a quarter iron ore miner behaves partly like an iron ore fund. The next names were Panasonic at 6.8%, NAURA Technology at 6.5%, which makes semiconductor manufacturing equipment in China, Samsung SDI at 6.3% and TDK at 6.0%. Albemarle, the name many articles still describe as LIT's largest holding, was 4.0%. Add up the pure lithium miners and refiners and you get 17.5%, fewer than one dollar in five.
BATT goes further in a different direction. Its index follows the battery value chain from the mine to the car, and in practice that means base metals and cars. In Amplify's own October 19 holdings file, Tesla was 8.2%, BHP 7.2%, Freeport-McMoRan 6.7% and Grupo Mexico 3.4%. Copper, nickel and other non-lithium mining added up to 44.1% of the fund and EV makers to 20.7%. Lithium miners were 6.9%. Amplify's own market allocation table for September 30 tells the same story, with copper alone at 23.3%.
IBAT is the one to read twice. Its name says energy storage and materials, and its largest holdings in the July 31 filing were Bloom Energy, a fuel cell maker, then CATL, then Air Products, Air Liquide and BASF. Chemicals, industrial gases, fuel cells and power equipment were 71.6% of it. The only lithium miner was Ganfeng at 0.7%. At the other end, LITP is close to a pure lithium fund at 99.7% by our count, though Sprott itself labels 4.5% of the fund as other equities, and ILIT sits in between: 57.5% lithium plus 31.2% in Chinese and Korean electrolyte, cathode and separator makers.
One classification call moves the numbers, so here it is. BYD is counted as an EV maker because cars are most of its business, even though it also makes cells. Counting it as a battery maker would add 3.3 points to LIT's battery share and 4.6 to BATT's. TDK and Panasonic are counted as battery makers because their battery units are large, and moving them out would shrink LIT's battery share further.
From each issuer's fund page, holdings file, prospectus and SEC filings
Which lithium ETF holds what, and how does each one pick its stocks?
| Fund | Expense ratio | Holdings | Assets | Rule | Largest positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprott Lithium Miners (LITP) | 0.65% | 38 | $27.5 million | Lithium miners, developers and explorers only | SQM 11.7%, Albemarle 10.9%, Ganfeng 9.0%, PLS Group 8.2%, Liontown 7.4% |
| iShares Lithium Miners and Producers (ILIT) | 0.47% | 35 | $18.4 million (June 30) | Lithium miners plus lithium chemical and battery material producers | Mineral Resources 8.0%, SQM 7.8%, Liontown 7.2%, Albemarle 7.2%, PLS Group 7.1% (June 30 filing) |
| Global X Lithium & Battery Tech (LIT) | 0.75% | 41 | $1.32 billion | Lithium miners, refiners and battery makers worldwide | Rio Tinto 23.1%, Panasonic 6.8%, NAURA Technology 6.5%, Samsung SDI 6.3%, TDK 6.0% |
| Amplify Lithium & Battery Technology (BATT) | 0.59% | 52 | $104 million | The battery value chain, from metal miners to EV makers | Tesla 8.2%, BHP 7.2%, Freeport-McMoRan 6.7%, CATL 5.4%, BYD 4.6% |
| iShares Energy Storage & Materials (IBAT) | 0.47% | 78 | $68.6 million (July 31) | Energy storage, hydrogen and the materials behind them | Bloom Energy 7.4%, CATL 7.2%, Air Products 7.1%, Air Liquide 7.0%, BASF 6.9% (July 31 filing) |
LIT is the only one of the five with real size. At $1.32 billion it is more than ten times BATT and around fifty times LITP, and BATT, ILIT and LITP together hold about $150 million. Small funds close: the Themes Lithium & Battery Metal Miners ETF (LIMI) stopped trading on September 21, 2026 and was liquidated a few days later, and WisdomTree's battery fund no longer appears in the SEC's ETF ticker list even though some articles still recommend it. A closure is not a loss by itself, but it forces a sale on the fund's date rather than yours, which can mean a taxable gain at a bad time.
The ILIT and IBAT figures come from SEC filings dated June 30 and July 31 because the iShares website could not be read for this comparison. Lithium stocks moved hard since the summer (LIT's assets fell from $1.51 billion in its July filing to $1.32 billion on October 16, and LITP's from $45.5 million to $27.5 million), so treat those two rows as the shape of each fund, not today's exact weights. If you also want solar, wind and hydrogen in the same basket, the clean energy ETF alternative page splits those funds the same way.
// The universe, six groups
Which stocks belong in a lithium and battery stocks index?
Lithium and battery companies earn from different things. Producers such as Albemarle and SQM sell lithium carbonate and hydroxide and live on the lithium price, which can halve or double in a year. Developers such as Lithium Americas and Sigma Lithium are building mines and trade on financing, permits and construction news. Battery makers sell cells on contract and earn a manufacturing margin. The share you give each group decides what your index actually rides on.
1
Lithium producers
2
Lithium developers
3
Diversified miner with a lithium business (optional)
4
Batteries and energy storage
5
EV makers (optional sleeve)
6
Battery metals beyond lithium (optional sleeve)
That second chart is the decision a US buyer faces first. Much of the lithium supply chain is listed outside New York: Ganfeng and Tianqi in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, PLS Group, Liontown and Mineral Resources in Sydney, CATL and EVE in China, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI in Seoul. ILIT was 40.9% Chinese and LITP 37.8% Australian. A basket of US listings can hold Albemarle, SQM, Lithium Americas, Lithium Argentina, Sigma Lithium, Standard Lithium and ioneer, which covers the two largest Western producers and most of the Americas developers, but it cannot hold the Australian hard rock miners or the Chinese and Korean cell makers directly. Decide whether you want that gap, or add LITP or ILIT to your index as a single line to fill it.
The S&P 500 overlap is tiny, which is the point of owning this theme at all. Measured as the sum of the smaller weight in each shared name, LIT overlapped the S&P 500 by 1.6%, BATT by 1.8% and LITP and ILIT by 0.02%, because few lithium or battery companies are in the index at all. Albemarle is, at 0.017% of it, and Tesla is the only large shared name. Weighting is the next decision. Lithium developers are small and swing hard, so many people cap each one at 5% to 10%, or use an equal weight index across producers and keep the developers as a smaller sleeve.
From a view on lithium demand to a basket you can buy
How to build your own lithium and battery stocks index in four steps
1
Decide what counts
Producers only, or developers too? Rio Tinto, battery makers, EV makers and copper in or out? Those choices are most of the gap between LITP and BATT.
2
Fill the groups
Search the catalog of US-listed stocks, add 10 to 20 names across producers, developers and battery makers, and set equal, size or your own weights with a cap.
3
Backtest against the funds
Run it against the S&P 500, and build a one-line index of LIT to put the biggest lithium fund, with years of history, on the same chart.
4
Track it, then buy it
Follow the index daily against its benchmark, export the weights, and place the basket at your own broker when you are ready.
Lithium has one of the most violent price histories of any theme, which makes a backtest more useful here than almost anywhere. LIT dates from 2010, so a basket can be run through the long flat years, the 2017 boom, the 2020 to 2022 run when lithium prices rose roughly tenfold, and the collapse that followed as new supply from Australia, Chile, Argentina and China arrived. Most of the US-listed developers are young and have no revenue, so test the producers over the full window and the developers over the short one, and look at the maximum drawdown before the return. Backtests are hypothetical and past returns do not predict future ones. If you cap the largest names, test a quarterly reset with the custom index rebalancing tool.
Three ways to own lithium stocks, compared honestly
Build your own lithium index vs a lithium ETF vs a basket broker
| Lithium ETF | Fidelity Basket Portfolios | Indexes, then your broker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides what counts as lithium | The fund's index | You | You, and you can test it first |
| Yearly cost | 0.47% to 0.75% of the balance | $4.99 a month flat | From $24 a month for the software, billed yearly, plus your broker's cost |
| History you can test | Since 2010 for LIT | None | As far back as your youngest stock goes |
| Australian miners and Asian cell makers | Yes, in LIT, LITP and ILIT | US listings only | US listings, plus any fund you add as one line |
| Per-stock tax losses | No | Yes, done by you | Yes, at your broker |
| Where it falls short | You take the fund's answer on Rio Tinto, copper and cars | No way to test a design before buying | You place and rebalance the trades yourself |
The ETF wins when you want one ticker, the Australian and Chinese miners you cannot buy in New York, and no upkeep. If that is the choice, measure the fee against what you are buying, not against the label. Per $100 of lithium miner exposure, LITP cost $0.65 a year and ILIT $0.82, against $4.28 for LIT and $8.58 for BATT, because most of those two funds is something else. That is our arithmetic, the expense ratio divided by the lithium miner share, and we rank all five that way in best lithium ETF ranked by fee.
Building your own pays off on cost once the balance is large enough that a flat $288 a year for the software beats the fund fee, about $38,000 against LIT and $44,000 against LITP, and whenever the mix you want is one no fund offers, such as Albemarle, SQM and the Americas developers with no Rio Tinto and no Tesla. Owning the shares has a tax side too, and lithium is where it matters. Developers can lose half their value on a financing or permit headline while the producers hold, and that name can be sold for a tax loss while the rest of the basket stays in place, which a fund does not allow. Check the dates with the wash sale calculator before you buy the same stock back.
What Indexes does and does not do: it is index construction, backtesting and tracking software. It does not hold money, place trades or give investment advice. You design and test the lithium and battery stocks index here and hold it wherever you already invest.
Lithium ETF questions
What people ask before they buy lithium stocks
What is the best lithium ETF?
If you want lithium miners, Sprott's LITP was 99.7% lithium miners and developers on October 16, 2026, and iShares' ILIT was 57.5% in its June 30 filing, plus 31.2% battery materials. Global X's LIT, the largest fund at $1.32 billion, was only 17.5% lithium miners, and its biggest holding was Rio Tinto at 23.1%.
Does Vanguard have a lithium ETF?
No. Vanguard sells no lithium or battery ETF, and neither do Schwab or Fidelity; an SEC filing search and a web search on October 19, 2026 found none. A Vanguard, Schwab or Fidelity customer can buy LIT, LITP, ILIT or BATT at their own broker, or buy the US-listed lithium stocks directly and skip the fund fee.
What does LIT hold?
On October 16, 2026, LIT held 41 stocks. Rio Tinto was 23.1%, then Panasonic 6.8%, NAURA Technology 6.5%, Samsung SDI 6.3%, TDK 6.0%, LG Energy Solution 5.1%, Tesla 4.7% and Albemarle 4.0%. Battery cells and materials were 40.6% of the fund, pure lithium miners 17.5%, and China 29.3%.
Is LIT or BATT better for battery exposure?
LIT, if batteries are the point. Cells and battery materials were 40.6% of LIT and 19.4% of BATT in October 2026. BATT is mostly a base metals and EV fund: 44.1% copper, nickel and other mining such as BHP and Freeport, and 20.7% EV makers led by Tesla. BATT is cheaper at 0.59% against 0.75%. The two funds overlap by 31.0%.
Is there a pure lithium miner ETF?
Yes. Sprott Lithium Miners (LITP) holds only lithium miners, developers and explorers: 99.7% of the fund on October 16, 2026 by our count, and 95.5% by Sprott's own September 30 split. It is small, $27.5 million, and holds many junior developers. It charges 0.65%. ILIT is the cheaper miner fund at 0.47% but also owns battery materials.
What is the cheapest lithium ETF?
ILIT and IBAT are the cheapest at 0.47%, then BATT at 0.59%, LITP at 0.65% and LIT at 0.75%. Per $100 of actual lithium miner exposure the ranking changes: LITP cost $0.65 a year, ILIT $0.82, LIT $4.28 and BATT $8.58, because most of LIT and BATT is something other than lithium. IBAT holds almost no lithium.
How much of LIT is China?
About 29% of LIT was in Chinese companies on October 16, 2026, including NAURA, EVE Energy, BYD, CATL, Ganfeng and Tianqi. The next largest country was Britain at 23.1%, all of it Rio Tinto, then South Korea at 13.7% and Japan at 12.8%. Only 11.0% of LIT was in US companies.
Can I build my own lithium stock index?
Yes. Pick the US-listed lithium producers and developers you want, such as Albemarle, SQM, Lithium Americas and Sigma Lithium, add battery makers if you want them, set the weights, and backtest the basket against LIT and the S&P 500. Then buy the shares at your broker, where there is no expense ratio.
Sources
Holdings, fees and assets from each issuer's fund page and holdings file: globalxetfs.com (LIT) and sprottetfs.com (LITP) for October 16, 2026, amplifyetfs.com (BATT) for October 19, 2026, and ssga.com (SPY) for October 15, 2026. The iShares website could not be read, so ILIT holdings are from its SEC Form N-PORT for June 30, 2026 and IBAT's for July 31, 2026; both have moved in price since. Expense ratios from each fund's summary prospectus or fund page. LIMI's closure from its September 8, 2026 prospectus supplement. Country is each issuer's home country, assigned by hand, so Rio Tinto counts as British and SQM as Chilean even though both trade in New York as ADRs. The groups are our own classification of each holding by its main business; some companies could reasonably sit in another group, most of all SQM (counted as lithium, though it also sells iodine and fertilizer), Mineral Resources (counted as diversified), TDK and Panasonic (counted as battery makers) and BYD (counted as an EV maker). Removing every such judgment call from the lithium group lowers it to 11.9% for LIT, 47.0% for ILIT and 82.6% for LITP. Holdings and fees change, so confirm them on the fund page before you buy. Indexes is not affiliated with any fund issuer or broker named here. We make index construction and backtesting software: we do not manage money, place trades or give investment advice, and backtested results are hypothetical.
Build the lithium index you actually meant to buy
Choose the lithium producers, developers and battery makers and the weights, backtest the basket against LIT and the S&P 500, and track it every day. Then buy it wherever you invest.
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