ETF investing turned the commodity world from a difficult-to-reach asset class to exposure that any retail investor could quickly add to their portfolio. The years have seen a number of innovative products come and go, but through thick and thin a select group of funds have broken away from the rest, as they have maintained their popularity. And just like any other business, these funds need to make money to stay open (and to hopefully make you money), as they have plenty of operating costs to take care of [for more commodity ETF analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Below, we outline the ten largest commodity ETFs and how much money they make on an average year, and some of the results may surprise you.
| Fund | AUM (MM) | Fees | Annual Revenues |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) | $73,329 | 0.40% | $293,316,000 |
| COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) | $11,434 | 0.25% | $28,585,000 |
| iShares Silver Trust (SLV) | $10,106 | 0.50% | $50,530,000 |
| DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC) | $5,913 | 0.93% | $54,990,900 |
| Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index TR ETN (DJP) | $2,032 | 0.75% | $15,240,000 |
| Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL) | $1,918 | 0.39% | $7,480,200 |
| DB Agriculture Fund (DBA) | $1,836 | 1.01% | $18,543,600 |
| United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG) | $1,295 | 0.60% | $7,770,000 |
| GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust Fund (GSG) | $1,236 | 0.75% | $9,270,000 |
| United States Oil Fund (USO) | $1,224 | 0.45% | $5,508,000 |
The most interesting takeaway from the stats above is the fact that bigger does not always mean better. DBC takes in the second highest amount of revenues, yet as an ETF, it is only the 4th largest commodity fund. It is also noteworthy that the cheapest product on the list, IAU, takes in the second highest amount of assets meaning that investors have been drawn in by its low fee structure.
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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
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