The T. Rowe Price Natural Resource ETF (TURF) has gained 33.8% since its June 2025 inception, riding an energy rally fueled by the Iran conflict, but the fund’s portfolio managers see opportunity in structural shifts beyond the Strait of Hormuz closure.
The energy sector has surged nearly 30% year-to-date through March, but the rally across natural resources has been uneven, according to Morningstar data. Liquefied natural gas companies like Venture Global LNG, Inc. (VG) have soared 118% this year, while oilfield service firms including Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) have fallen 12% since the war began.
The performance gap reflects a deeper transformation in energy markets that extends beyond daily oil price moves, according to T. Rowe Price portfolio manager Priyal Maniar. Countries are shifting toward “resource nationalism” by stockpiling critical materials and diversifying energy sources into coal, nuclear, and renewables, Maniar said in a March video.
This trend is boosting demand not just for oil and gas, but also for uranium, copper, and rare earth minerals, Maniar said. At the same time, U.S. shale production is maturing. American producers aren’t running out of oil, but they are running out of the cheapest reserves to develop, which raises the floor for commodity prices.
Positioning for Resource Security
TURF’s active approach allows managers to position the portfolio toward what T. Rowe Price identifies as beneficiaries of these structural changes. The fund holds 1.9% in Cameco Corp. (CCO:TSE) and 1% in Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC) as bets on the uranium stockpiling trend, according to ETF Database data.
Copper exposure includes 2.7% in BHP Group (BHP:ASX), 2.2% in Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (FCX), and 0.8% in Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO). Agriculture represents one of the fund’s largest tilts, with 5.5% in Corteva, Inc. (CTVA), 4.5% in Nutrien (NTR:TSE), and 3% in Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM), according to ETF Database.
The fund’s sector breakdown shows 39.1% in metals and mining, 24.9% in agriculture, 18.6% in integrated energy companies, and 12.2% in exploration and production, as of Dec. 31.
Low-cost producers with long resource lives that offer secure supply are positioned to benefit from rising marginal costs. Parts of Canada’s oil patch score well on these metrics, Maniar noted.
TURF’s expense ratio is 0.44%, and the fund has returned 13.4% year-to-date, according to ETF Database.
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