Nevertheless, stock-based commodity ETFs still cover individual companies. Like any other company, firms can have things go wrong. Mismanagement, corruption, environmental disasters, labor strikes and lawsuits can have an impact on the bottom line.
Other external factors may also affect the performance of the mining company, such as new discoveries of the commodity or new tax laws.
On the other hand, commodity producers can just as likely make savvy business decisions, benefit when new mines are discovered, raise dividends, cut costs or boost profits.
For past stories in this series, visit our “What is an ETF?” category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.