An area of rapid growth in terns of product innovation in exchange traded funds the past year has been the agriculture/agribusiness sector.
Perhaps the most well-known entry in this ETF category is Market Vectors Agribusiness (NYSEArca: MOO), having debuted in August of 2007 and garnering well over $5 billion in assets under management since inception.
However, as global food prices have generally rallied over the past few years and portfolio managers desire specific exposure to the agricultural sector and thus equities that derive a significant portion of their revenues from agriculture, a number of new products have sprouted up in the space.
For instance, PowerShares Global Agriculture (NasdaqGM: PAGG) is a close peer of MOO, and has more of a large/mega cap slant as far as the portfolio makeup, like MOO.
Then there is IndexIQ Global Agribusiness Small Cap (NYSEArca: CROP), which listed in March of this year and focuses on small cap equities involved in the agribusiness space. Jefferies CRB Global Agriculture Equity (NYSEArca: CRBA) is also in this category, and resembles MOO and PAGG, with top holdings such as POT, MON, DE, and SYENF.