ETF Spotlight on iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (NYSEArca: GSG), part of a weekly series.
Assets: $1.7 billion
Holdings: Tracks an index of futures contracts among the following categories: energy, 69.7%; agriculture, 14%; industrial metals, 8.1%; livestock, 4.3%; and precious metals, 3.5%.
Objective: Seeks to track the performance of the GSCI Excess Return Index.
What You Should Know
- ETFs that hold futures contracts have special tax considerations [How commodity ETFs are taxed.]
- The index tracks 24 commodities and is production weighted according to the significance of each commodity to the world economy
- GSG is a broad-based commodity fund and a low-cost way to gain exposure to a variety of commodities
- Expense ratio is 0.75%
The Latest News
- Investors in 2009 have sought the security of hard assets, fearing imminent inflation, an ever-weaker U.S. dollar and an anemic domestic economy. [Why steel is rebounding.]
- Investment inflows into commodities are expected to exceed that of 2008, and investors have been more than compensating for the weak physical demand. [Why investors still flock to gold.]
- Long- commodity ETFs have seen about $3 billion in new assets since November, as net cash flow was more than triple October’s total. It was also the biggest influx since summer.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.