Commodity ETF Overview

For anyone thinking about adding some commodities to your investment portfolio, there is a growing selection from which to choose. Here are the top performers:

Please don't ask me about that MacroMarkets Oil Down Fund (DCR) - I have no idea what's going on with it. It came out as number one, so it's in the top spot. Numbers two and five, however, I like a lot.

Mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and exchange traded notes based on a commodity index are shown below. All of the remaining tables are ordered oldest fund first, newest fund last.

The Dow Jones AIG Commodity Index, the basis for both Pimco PCRCX fund and the iPath (DJP), has been the top performing commodity index so far in 2008, though it is not clear how the Pimco fund has outperformed its index by such a wide margin.

Energy funds are shown below. Again, don't ask me about the Macromarkets products.

Note how the "early bird gets the worm" above with the Victoria Bay USO ETF and the streetTRACKS (GLD) ETF below. The streetTRACKS ETF beat the iShares (IAU) ETF by a month or so, yet it's got 15 times the trading volume and 33 times the assets.

Of course in the metals, copper and silver are the stories so far in 2008. Copper?? Isn't Dr. Copper supposed to be predicting the future of the global economy? You wouldn't know it to read any financial newspaper, but Dr. Copper thinks the prospects are quite good.

Well, actually, agricultural products are the story so far in 2008 as shown below. All these funds are up double-digits so far except the ones for livestock. Hmmm...

If anyone knows of any other offerings, let me know. I think the above list is complete save for a very old Oppenheimer fund [QRAAX] that has some ridiculously high loads.

Full Disclosure: Long PCRCX, DBE, DBA, GLD, SLV

Editor: See also our full listing of Commodity ETFs and ETNs.

Comments

[VStockpro:]

Excellent analysis ,i have looking for this combination from various sources, but got it in one place. Tim Keep up the good work

2008 Feb 12 08:58 AM

[User 64224:]

Enjoyed the article. You covered the commodity ETFs very well. This makes it much easier to compare and contrast within these groups.
Thanks for the work.

2008 Feb 12 09:03 AM

[User 5682:]

Check ProShares . . . I know thay have an ultra-short oil fund (DUG). I can't recall but perhpas there are others.

2008 Feb 12 09:19 AM

[Heisenberg:]

Thanks for all the detail.
The only other one I know of is RYMBX.
I think the traching error in PCRDX is due to the Pimco boys adjusting the biil/bond holdings to be in line with their interest rate forcasts.

2008 Feb 12 09:27 AM

[Panskeptic:]

Elements MLCX Biofuels (AMEX: FUE) and Elements MLCX Grains (AMEX: GRU) have just been announced, so here's two more for you to track. Predictably, they claim to be better structured than the DB ETFs. We'll see.

2008 Feb 12 11:17 AM

[Index Maven:]

You forgot GSC (Goldman's GSCI enhanced ETN). Also in the open-end arena there is QRAAX

2008 Feb 12 03:09 PM

[User 78359:]

The COW etf contains the following stocks, not live cattle nor live hogs as iterated above. The COW is similar to MOO on the AMEX.
ETF Home
Overview
Historical Data
Performance
Holdings
Literature

Fund Holdings as of 2/12/08 Export

Name Weighting
MOSAIC CO 11.03 %
POTASH CORP OF SASKATCHEWAN 10.36 %
MONSANTO COMPANY 9.64 %
SYNGENTA AG- ADR 9.19 %
DEERE & CO 8.26 %
QUIMICA Y MINERA ADR(REPR 10 SER'B'NPV) 5.85 %
ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND 4.89 %
KUBOTA CORP ADR-CNV INTO 5 COM SHS 4.38 %
EL DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO 4.15 %
CNH GLOBAL NV 3.65 %
AGRIUM INC 3.63 %
BUNGE LIMITED 3.41 %
PERDIGAO SA ADR 3.28 %
CF INDUSTRIES HOLDINGS INC 2.96 %
FMC CORP 1.49 %
AGCO CORP 1.30 %
INDUSTRIAS BACHOCO SAB DE 1.28 %
SASKATCHEWAN WHEAT POOL 1.14 %
HANFENG EVERGREEN INC COM 1.05 %
TERRA INDUSTRIES 0.95 %
TYSON FOODS INC 0.89 %
SMITHFIELD FOODS 0.71 %
ORIGIN AGRITECH LTD 0.70 %
LINDSAY MANUFACTURING CO 0.55 %
CAL-MAINE FOODS INC 0.54 %
FRESH DEL MONTE PRODUCE INC 0.52 %
OMEGA PROTEIN CORP USD 0.51 %
ANDERSONS INC/THE 0.50 %
MIGAO CORPORATION COMMON 0.48 %
SCOTTS MIRACLE-GRO CO/THE 0.48 %
CORN PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL 0.47 %
TRACTOR SUPPLY CO 0.45 %
AGRIA CORPORATION SPON ADR 0.44 %
PILGRIMS PRIDE CORP 0.44 %
SEABOARD CORP 0.43 %

2008 Feb 13 10:53 AM

[granger:]

Thanks for the analysis. I have been using the RJI

2008 Feb 13 11:39 AM

[TraderMark:]

Thank you Tim, there are a lot of ETFs for ag trading in London but not NYC. I think with the strength in ag, we should see a lot of offerings coming in 08, I am on the lookout every day.

2008 Feb 13 06:55 PM

[GKM:]

For those who trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as well, there are a bunch provided by Horizon Beta Pro ETF's hbpetfs.com They are all double up and double down. Also, Claymore also has some on the TSX claymoreinvestments.ca...

There are also the currency etfs like FXC, FXY, FXA, FXB, FXE, FXM, FXF, FXS (because who does want to trade the Krona).

2008 Feb 13 10:38 PM

[d_teller:]

Right at the top of this web page is an advt. from VanEck about their agricultural commodity ETF "MOO".

2008 Feb 13 11:51 PM

[Bob Roberts:]

Thanks for the info, I have been looking at pulling the trigger on a couple of agg etfs, but one thing i do not get is the price quote could someone explain it, for example when I put in an order for jjg through my online broker the price is $260 per share/etf. The quote for jjg is below, how do I interpret the bid/ask quote?


IPATH AIG GRAINS ETN (NYSEArca:JJG) Edit
Last Trade: 65.09
Trade Time: Feb 15
Change: Up 0.47 (0.73%)
Prev Close: 64.62
Open: 65.50
Bid: 60.00 x 100
Ask: 260.00 x 200

2008 Feb 17 10:46 PM

[tradealarm:]

Please provide your reference about holding preference

2008 Feb 19 11:00 PM

[JibJab:]

Re: the 260/share quote -- try getting a quote during market hours.

2008 Feb 25 04:29 PM

[tinscale:]

There are two funds with the ticker COW.

- the iPath Dow Jones-AIG Livestock Total Return Sub–Index ETN and traded on NYSE Arca, and
- the Claymore Global Agriculture ETF traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange TSX

2008 Mar 03 01:37 PM

[Marol:]

Thank you! Can't find GAZ on Marketwatch -- did the symbol change?

Others include DBC and dgp (double gold), etc -- DB may have other new ones.

Thanks, User #_______ for the COW breakdown.

2008 Mar 30 04:31 AM

[George Park...:]

Hi Tim,

In Canada on the TSX, Horizons BetaPro offers a number of 2x long and matching 2x short ETFs in oil, natural gas, DJIA AIG Grains Sub-index, and gold.

I use them in my allocation investment program - great for volatility and non-correlation against other stocks and ETFs.

Cheers,
George Parkanyi

2008 Mar 31 10:32 PM

[gauchoty:]

It would be nice to see ER% (expense ratio) as one column, plus any info on loads. That would be a big decider for me given that many of these track the same indices and/or have similar holdings with slightly different percentages.

2008 Apr 19 08:38 AM

[bkout3:]

COW is based on cattle and hog livestock futures contracts.... see:
finance.yahoo.com/q/pr...

2008 Jun 20 01:32 PM

[SoYouThinkY...:]

I added up to date charts and data for commodity ETFs and ETNs to my website. GLD (Gold), LD (Lead), NIB (Cocoa) and BAL (Cotton) all look strong.

Take a look at soyouthinkyoucaninvest.../

I also compiled a complete list of all the commodity ETF and ETNs available to US investors as well as detailed data on each and saved them in a convenient google spreadsheet that everyone can view and download.

Take a look at soyouthinkyoucaninvest...

Jan 18 08:17 PM