BlackRock’s iShares exchange traded fund business launched five new funds Thursday that focus on various global commodity miners and producers.
According to a press release, the new funds provide the benefit of indirect exposure to commodities through companies involved in their production, without the hassle of dealing with storage or other costs associated with ownership of the physical commodities. The new ETFs include:
- iShares MSCI Global Agriculture Producers Fund (NYSEArca: VEGI) tries to reflect the performance of companies involved in agriculture at or near the initial phase of agricultural input and production, such as Monsanto, Potash Corp and Deere & Co. Sector allocations include Fertilizer & Agricultural Chemicals 53.1%, Agricultural Products 23.0%, Construction & Farm Machinery 15.4% and Packaged Foods & Meats 8.5%. Top country allocations include U.S. 41.7%, Canada 14.1% and Switzerland 7.8%.
- iShares MSCI Global Energy Producers Fund (NYSEArca: FILL) tries to reflect the performance of companies engaged in energy exploration and production, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP. Sector allocations include Integrated Oil & Gas 66.4%, Oil & Gas Exploration & Production 26.2%, Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing 4.0% and Coal & Consumables Fuels 3.3%. Top country allocations include U.S. 45.6%, U.K. 18.6% and Canada 11.0%.
- iShares MSCI Global Select Metals & Mining Producers Fund (NYSEArca: PICK) tries to reflect the performance of companies involved in the extraction and production of diversified metals, aluminum, steel and precious metals and minerals, except gold and silver, such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American. Sectors include Diversified Metals & Mining 61.8%, Steel 32.9%, Precious Metals & Minerals 2.7% and Aluminum 2.6%. Top countries include U.K. 25.5%, Australia 19.5% and U.S. 11.1%.
- iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners Fund (NYSEArca: RING) tries to reflect the performance of companies that generate revenue from gold mining, like Barrick Gold, Goldcorp and Newmont Mining. Top country allocations include Canada 56.3%, South Africa 12.5% and U.S. 11.7%.
- iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners Fund (NYSEArca: SLVP) tries to reflect the performance of companies that generate their revnue from silver mining, such asSilver Wheaton, Buenaventura Minas and Industrias Penoles. Sector allocations include Precious Metals & Minerals 76.4% and Gold 23.7%. Top countries include Canada 57.6%, Peru 12.1% and U.S. 9.6%.
All five funds have an expense ratio of 0.39%.
“Commodities are a key allocation in many portfolios, often used as portfolio diversifiers or a hedge against inflation,” Darek Wojnar, Head of U.S. iShares Product Development and Management at BlackRock, said in the press release. “Commodity producer ETFs are a unique way for investors to access equity-based exposure to this asset class, wrapped with the diversification benefits of an ETF.”
“Through these new funds, investors can implement an equity-based solution for achieving highly targeted exposure to appealing commodity sectors, complementing or even replacing physically-backed or futures-based commodities approaches,” Mr. Wojnar added. “These funds offer an excellent example of the flexibility and efficiency of the ETF vehicle in helping investors implement tactical asset allocation strategies focused on taking advantage of the global markets’ most attractive emerging opportunities.”
For more information on new offerings, visit our new ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.
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