Base metals and industrial metals are important commodities in sectors such as construction and technology, so they shouldn’t be ignored. Whether you are looking to diversify your portfolio or seize a perceived opportunity with metal commodities, you should consider metals ETFs for your investing strategy.
Breaking Down Industrial Metals ETFs
There are quite a few different metals ETFs to consider for your portfolio. They can vary by region, utilize different investment strategies, or specialize in a specific type of metal. Like any type of ETF, these products allow investors to enter specific sectors or invest in certain markets without loading up on equities or battling index basket pricing. Instead, you can get instant exposure to your desired market with one easy transaction. Some metals funds target metals as commodities, using futures to track the underlying target assets—other ETFs target company stocks involved in the mining, exploration, or distributing of metals. There are also inverse and leveraged metals ETFs, which use advanced strategies to either short or outperform the underlying index in the near term. International metals ETFs allow investors to add exposure from different countries. Metals exchange-traded notes (ETNs) offer a similar investment product as ETFs but with some key differences.
List of Base and Industrial Metals ETFs and ETNs
As with any investment—a company stock, mutual fund, ETF, or otherwise—please make sure you thoroughly research these products before placing any trades on them (either long or short). Conduct your due diligence and watch how these funds react to different market conditions. Additionally, look under the ETF’s hood and see what is in the funds. Furthermore, ETFs and ETNs are constantly in flux. The name, ticker symbol, investment goals, or holdings in these products could change. ETFs have many advantages, but they have disadvantages, as well (as does any investment). It is important to understand the investment vehicle before you trade it. If you have any questions or concerns, make sure you consult a stockbroker, a financial advisor, or another financial industry professional. With those disclaimers out of the way, here’s a list of industrial metals ETFs and ETNs to kickstart your research:
CPER: United States Copper Index Fund DBB: Invesco DB Base Metals Fund JJMTF: iPath Bloomberg Industrial Metals Subindex Total Return ETN JJCTF: iPath Bloomberg Copper Subindex Total Return ETN PICK: iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF REMX: VanEck Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF RJZ: ELEMENTS Rogers International Commodity Index Metals Total Return ETN SLX: VanEck Vectors Steel ETF UCIB: ETRACS CMCI Total Return ETN Series B XME: SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF
