This year saw a surge in popularity for commodity investing. As the years have passed, investors have seen the benefits of investing in the risky, but lucrative asset class. Commodities provide a protection against inflation as well as a low correlation to equities. One of the biggest problems within the industry was the lack of options available to investors just a few years ago. It used to be that only those with a complex futures account were able to add these securities to their portfolios. Now, there are hundreds of products to help even the smallest investor gain access to their favorite commodity investment. Below, we outline all of the commodity exchange traded products that hit the market this year [see also 12 High-Yielding Commodities For 2012].
Commodity ETFs
The commodity space continued its surge as investors have shown their large appetite for this asset class:
| Name | Ticker | ETFdb Category | Inception Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States Copper Index Fund | CPER | Metals | 11/15/2011 |
| 3x Inverse Gold ETN | DGLD | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| 3x Inverse Silver ETN | DSLV | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| 2x Inverse Palladium ETN | IPAL | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| 2x Inverse Platinum ETN | IPLT | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| 2x Long Palladium ETN | LPAL | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| 2x Long Platinum ETN | LPLT | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| 3x Long Gold ETN | UGLD | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| 3x Long Silver ETN | USLV | Leveraged Commodities | 10/17/2011 |
| Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas | BOIL | Leveraged Commodities | 10/6/2011 |
| UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas | KOLD | Leveraged Commodities | 10/6/2011 |
| Sugar Fund | CANE | Agricultural Commodities | 9/19/2011 |
| Soybean Fund | SOYB | Agricultural Commodities | 9/19/2011 |
| Wheat Fund | WEAT | Agricultural Commodities | 9/19/2011 |
| Oil Trendpilot ETN | TWTI | Oil & Gas | 9/15/2011 |
| E-TRACS Natural Gas Futures Contango ETN | GASZ | Oil & Gas | 6/16/2011 |
| E-TRACS Oil Futures Contango ETN | OILZ | Oil & Gas | 6/16/2011 |
| Pure Beta Broad Commodity ETN | BCM | Commodities | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Precious Metals ETN | BLNG | Precious Metals | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Coffee ETN | CAFE | Agricultural Commodities | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Cocoa ETN | CHOC | Agricultural Commodities | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Cotton ETN | CTNN | Agricultural Commodities | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Copper ETN | CUPM | Metals | 4/21/2011 |
| Seasonal Natural Gas ETN | DCNG | Oil & Gas | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Agriculture ETN | DIRT | Agricultural Commodities | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Aluminum ETN | FOIL | Metals | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Softs ETN | GRWN | Agricultural Commodities | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Industrial Metals ETN | HEVY | Metals | 4/21/2011 |
| Pure Beta Lead ETN | LEDD | Metals | 4/20/2011 |
| Pure Beta Livestock ETN | LSTK | Agricultural Commodities | 4/20/2011 |
| Pure Beta Nickel ETN | NINI | Metals | 4/20/2011 |
| Pure Beta Crude Oil ETN | OLEM | Oil & Gas | 4/20/2011 |
| Pure Beta Energy ETN | ONG | Oil & Gas | 4/20/2011 |
| Pure Beta S&P GSCI-Weighted ETN | SBV | Commodities | 4/20/2011 |
| Pure Beta Sugar ETN | SGAR | Agricultural Commodities | 4/20/2011 |
| Pure Beta Grains ETN | WEET | Agricultural Commodities | 4/20/2011 |
| 2x Oil Bull/S&P 500 Bear | FOL | Leveraged Commodities | 2/24/2011 |
| 2x Gold Bull/S&P 500 Bear | FSG | Leveraged Commodities | 2/24/2011 |
| WTI Crude Oil Fund | CRUD | Oil & Gas | 2/23/2011 |
| Gold Trendpilot ETN | TBAR | Precious Metals | 2/22/2011 |
| Natural Gas Fund | NAGS | Oil & Gas | 2/1/2011 |
| Physical Asian Gold Shares | AGOL | Precious Metals | 1/14/2011 |
Commodity Producers ETFs
These funds will offer a more indirect play, but still make for an interesting way to make a play on some of the most popular commodities in the world:
| Name | Ticker | ETFdb Category | Inception Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund | GUNR | Commodity Producers Equities | 9/22/2011 |
| Farming ETF | BARN | Commodity Producers Equities | 6/2/2011 |
| Fertilizers/Potash ETF | SOIL | Commodity Producers Equities | 5/26/2011 |
| IQ Global Agribusiness Small Cap ETF | CROP | Commodity Producers Equities | 3/22/2011 |
| S&P/TSX Venture 30 Canada ETF | TSXV | Commodity Producers Equities | 3/17/2011 |
| Pure Gold Miners ETF | GGGG | Commodity Producers Equities | 3/15/2011 |
| Aluminum ETF | ALUM | Commodity Producers Equities | 1/4/2011 |
MLP ETFs
MLPs have long been investor favorites for their high yields and volumes. This year saw just one new MLP-based ETN:
| Name | Ticker | ETFdb Category | Inception Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cushing MLP High Income Index ETN | MLPY | MLPs | 3/16/2011 |
Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
