Official data

Updated July 18

CompareVAISBMETFs

Fees, returns and holdings.
Find the ETFs that fit you.

Commodity ETFs

Commodity ETFs offer exposure to commodities: oil, natural gas, industrial metals, agricultural products. They typically use futures contracts.

Why invest

Inflation protection. Diversification vs stocks and bonds. Uncorrelated performance to traditional markets.

How to choose

Beware of "contango" which erodes returns of futures-based ETFs. Prefer producer equity ETFs for long-term exposure.

Popular ETFs

Diversified commodities: DJP, GSG. Base metals: XBM.TO. Gold and miners: XGD.TO, ZGD.TO. Oil: USO. Agriculture: DBA.

Best account

TFSA — Gains are taxed as ordinary income for futures contracts - TFSA protects.

What is contango and why does it affect commodity ETFs?

Contango occurs when futures contracts cost more than the spot price. ETFs must "roll" their contracts regularly, buying higher and selling lower, which erodes returns over the long term.

Is it better to invest in commodities through stocks or futures?

For long-term, producer equity ETFs (miners, oil companies) are generally preferable as they avoid contango and pay dividends. Futures-based ETFs are better suited for short-term.

Commodity ETFs

Commodity ETFs offer exposure to commodities: oil, natural gas, industrial metals, agricultural products. They typically use futures contracts.

Why invest

Inflation protection. Diversification vs stocks and bonds. Uncorrelated performance to traditional markets.

How to choose

Beware of "contango" which erodes returns of futures-based ETFs. Prefer producer equity ETFs for long-term exposure.

Popular ETFs

Diversified commodities: DJP, GSG. Base metals: XBM.TO. Gold and miners: XGD.TO, ZGD.TO. Oil: USO. Agriculture: DBA.

Best account

TFSA — Gains are taxed as ordinary income for futures contracts - TFSA protects.

What is contango and why does it affect commodity ETFs?

Contango occurs when futures contracts cost more than the spot price. ETFs must "roll" their contracts regularly, buying higher and selling lower, which erodes returns over the long term.

Is it better to invest in commodities through stocks or futures?

For long-term, producer equity ETFs (miners, oil companies) are generally preferable as they avoid contango and pay dividends. Futures-based ETFs are better suited for short-term.

				Holdings					Strategy	Dist. Freq.		Market
	VA SMH Semiconductor ETF	+36.03%	0.35%	+14	0.18%	2011	67.8G$	1.97	Index	Ann.	12.5M	🇺🇸 United States
	IN SOXQ PHLX Semiconductor ETF	+30.84%	0.19%	+22	0.28%	2021	2.4G$	2.19	Index	Qtr.	3.4M	🇺🇸 United States
	IS SOXX Semiconductor ETF	+30.76%	0.34%	+15932	0.29%	2001	38.4G$	2.26	Index	Qtr.	11.5M	🇺🇸 United States
	FI FTXL Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	+29.84%	0.60%	+175	0.13%	2016	2.5G$	2.30	Index	Qtr.	283K	🇺🇸 United States
	GL CHPS Artificial Intelligence Semiconductor Index ETF	+27.74%	0.45%		0.01%	2021	384M$	1.25	Thematic	Ann.	105K	🇨🇦 Canada
	BM ZGD Equal Weight Global Gold Index ETF	+27.54%	0.55%		0.21%	2012	260M$	0.91	Index	Ann.	20K	🇨🇦 Canada
	DE DGP DB Gold Double Long ETN	+27.02%	0.75%		0.00%	2008	252M$	0.03	Active	—	161K	🇺🇸 United States
	GL ENCC Canadian Oil and Gas Equity Covered Call ETF	+26.90%	0.65%		11.93%	2011	755M$	0.20	Covered Call	Mo.	147K	🇨🇦 Canada
	BM ZEO Equal Weight Oil & Gas Index ETF	+26.65%	0.55%		1.56%	2009	427M$	0.65	Index	Qtr.	24K	🇨🇦 Canada
	BM ZJG Junior Gold Index ETF	+25.72%	0.55%		0.11%	2010	156M$	0.83	Index	Ann.	33K	🇨🇦 Canada
	ST XLE State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF	+23.82%	0.08%	+14	2.65%	1998	38.7G$	0.00	Active	Qtr.	33.0M	🇺🇸 United States
	IS IEO U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF	+23.71%	0.38%		2.06%	2006	536M$	-0.07	Index	Qtr.	69K	🇺🇸 United States
	ST XSD State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF	+23.58%	0.35%		0.17%	2006	2.5G$	2.46	Index	Qtr.	139K	🇺🇸 United States
	HA HGGG Global Gold Giants Index ETF	+22.49%	0.40%		0.00%	2019	43M$	0.69	Index	Ann.	4K	🇨🇦 Canada
	IN PXJ Oil & Gas Services ETF	+22.47%	0.63%	+497	2.24%	2005	129M$	0.70	Active	Qtr.	74K	🇺🇸 United States
	FI FTXN Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF	+21.25%	0.60%	+30	2.13%	2016	944M$	-0.02	Index	Qtr.	1.5M	🇺🇸 United States
	US SDCI USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund	+21.17%	0.60%		2.91%	2018	593M$	0.87	Index	Semi-ann.	348K	🇺🇸 United States
	US USCI United States Commodity Index Fund, LP	+20.44%	1.05%		0.00%	2010	371M$	0.86	Index	—	19K	🇺🇸 United States
	IS XGD S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF	+20.22%	0.61%		0.88%	2001	3.1G$	0.85	Index	Semi-ann.	468K	🇨🇦 Canada
	BM ZMT Equal Weight Global Base Metals Hedged to CAD Index ETF	+19.73%	0.55%		0.17%	2009	76M$	1.24	Index	Ann.	3K	🇨🇦 Canada
	ST XLK State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF	+19.69%	0.08%	+56	0.40%	1998	124.5G$	1.42	Active	Qtr.	13.0M	🇺🇸 United States
	VA CRAK Oil Refiners ETF	+19.28%	0.61%		1.56%	2015	172M$	0.41	Active	Ann.	139K	🇺🇸 United States
	ST XOP State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF	+19.24%	0.35%	+41	1.83%	2006	3.6G$	0.05	Index	Qtr.	3.7M	🇺🇸 United States
	GL GOEX Global X Gold Explorers ETF	+18.98%	0.65%	+1771	2.05%	2010	128M$	0.84	Active	Ann.	8K	🇺🇸 United States
	DE DRFC RI Canada Multifactor - Net-Zero Emissions Pathway ETF	+18.58%	0.40%		1.15%	2018	371M$	0.72	Factor	Qtr.	12K	🇨🇦 Canada
	GL GLCC Gold Producer Equity Covered Call ETF	+18.51%	0.65%		10.16%	2011	516M$	0.28	Covered Call	Mo.	48K	🇨🇦 Canada
	IS IGM Expanded Tech Sector ETF	+18.46%	0.39%	+286	0.13%	2001	11.0G$	1.48	Index	Qtr.	533K	🇺🇸 United States
	ST XES State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF	+18.26%	0.35%		1.15%	2006	574M$	0.81	Index	Qtr.	120K	🇺🇸 United States
	IS XVLU MSCI USA Value Factor Index ETF	+18.06%	0.32%	+2	0.77%	2019	87M$	0.99	Factor	Qtr.	102K	🇨🇦 Canada
	IS IEZ U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF	+17.72%	0.38%		1.21%	2006	637M$	0.82	Index	Qtr.	636K	🇺🇸 United States
	VA OIH Oil Services ETF	+17.55%	0.35%	+12	1.16%	2011	2.4G$	0.79	Index	Ann.	386K	🇺🇸 United States
	IS IAUM Gold Trust Micro	+17.19%	0.09%		0.00%	2021	7.2G$	0.16	Index	—	2.3M	🇺🇸 United States
	ST GLDM SPDR Gold MiniShares	+17.15%	0.10%		0.00%	2018	30.9G$	0.16	Index	—	4.2M	🇺🇸 United States
	GR BAR GraniteShares Gold Trust	+17.07%	0.17%		0.00%	2017	1.5G$	0.16	Index	—	244K	🇺🇸 United States
	IS SLVP MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF	+17.02%	0.39%		1.64%	2012	999M$	1.00	Index	Semi-ann.	316K	🇺🇸 United States
	ME OUNZ VanEck Merk Gold Trust	+16.98%	0.25%		0.00%	2014	2.8G$	0.07	Index	—	794K	🇺🇸 United States
	IS IAU Gold Trust	+16.98%	0.25%		0.00%	2005	69.9G$	0.16	Index	—	6.6M	🇺🇸 United States
	ST GLD SPDR Gold Shares	+16.80%	0.40%		0.00%	2004	150.4G$	0.16	Index	—	7.9M	🇺🇸 United States
	IS VLUE MSCI USA Value Factor ETF	+16.38%	0.15%	+141	1.43%	2013	15.9G$	1.19	Factor	Qtr.	1.9M	🇺🇸 United States
	VA VMO Global Momentum Factor ETF	+16.31%	0.35%	+1	0.73%	2016	477M$	0.64	Factor	Ann.	13K	🇨🇦 Canada
	IS XBM S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index ETF	+15.71%	0.61%		0.69%	2011	565M$	1.29	Index	Semi-ann.	66K	🇨🇦 Canada
	IS GSG S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust	+15.52%	0.75%	-	0.00%	2006	1.0G$	1.29	Index	—	715K	🇺🇸 United States
	IS IVLU Edge MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF	+15.39%	0.31%	+15932	3.28%	2015	4.3G$	0.81	Factor	Semi-ann.	903K	🇺🇸 United States
	MA MCLC Multifactor Canadian Large Cap Index ETF	+15.37%	0.35%		1.64%	2017	545M$	0.72	Factor	Semi-ann.	1K	🇨🇦 Canada
	FR FLUS Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF	+15.31%	0.28%		0.37%	2017	126M$	0.95	Factor	Qtr.	4K	🇨🇦 Canada
	FI FDMO Fidelity Momentum Factor ETF	+15.24%	0.15%	+113	0.56%	2016	903M$	1.16	Factor	Qtr.	65K	🇺🇸 United States
	VA VVL Global Value Factor ETF	+14.93%	0.35%		1.75%	2016	833M$	0.54	Factor	Ann.	13K	🇨🇦 Canada
	IS SVR Silver Bullion ETF	+14.89%	0.60%		0.00%	2009	405M$	0.67	Index	Ann.	86K	🇨🇦 Canada
	PR EQRR Equities for Rising Rates ETF	+14.86%	0.35%	+38	1.25%	2017	62M$	0.80	Index	Qtr.	52K	🇺🇸 United States
	PU SBT Silver Bullion Fund	+14.83%	0.40%		0.00%	2016	55M$	0.60	Index	—	3K	🇨🇦 Canada