Figuring out why RLY has lagged this year is not difficult. Like INKM, RLY uses an ETF fund of funds approach. RLY’s lineup includes allocations to downtrodden ETFs such as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca: GDX) and the PowerShares DB Gold Fund (NYSEArca: DGL). Fortunately, those allocations are small, but RLY’s 45.6% weight to natural resources and 11.4% allocation to commodities funds makes the ETF a multi-asset play for the risk-tolerant investor.
The SPDR SSgA Global Allocation ETF (NYSEArca: GAL) is the smallest of the three ETFs mentioned here with $53.5 million in assets, but GAL is also the best performer on a year-to-date basis with a gain of 7%. GAL is also the cheapest of three with a 0.35% annual expense ratio. INKM and RLY both charge 0.7%.
GAL uses the ETF fund of funds approach as well with other SSgA ETFs dominating most of GAL’s 27 holdings. The fund offers something for investors looking for international exposure as it allocates more than a third of its weight to global stocks.
U.S. stocks also figure prominently in GAL’s mix with a weight of 28.4 percent, but the ETF does feature exposure to U.S. investment-grade and junk bonds as well as preferreds and slight exposure to emerging markets debt.
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this story.