“The feedback we have received from advisors is that they have been struggling to piece together an efficient lineup of products for their exposure to alternatives or real assets,” Michael Natale, National Sales Desk Manager for Northern Trust Asset Management, said. “This is where a balanced approach like GUNR can help.”
The FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resource Index Fund (NYSEArca: GUNR) provides exposure to the rising demand for natural resources and tracks global companies in the energy, metals and agriculture sectors, while maintaining a core exposure to the timberlands and water resources sectors. Specifically, GUNR includes 32.2% energy, 29.6% agriculture, 27.9% metal, 4.9% Timber and 4.8% water.
Moreover, some are beginning to think about the potential consequences of droughts, notably the conditions in California, and potential benefits of water investments. The fundamentals look promising as a growing global population tries to tap into a small supply.
Carlson points out that the world population is growing by 80 million people per year and the global population could exceed 9.1 billion by 2050. Meanwhile, only 2.5% of the world’s water supply is freshwater, and a large chunk is stuck in glaciers and ice, which makes the total liquid freshwater supply closer to 1.6%.
“For many investors, a strategic, balanced allocation to a diverse collection of natural resources can potentially provide all the energy exposure needed for strategic allocations and provide exposure to one of the hottest areas of natural resources – water,” Carlson added.
Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about the natural resources can listen to the webcast here on demand.