You can take advantage of rising commodity prices by buying securities that track commodity prices on a stock exchange. The security may own the physical commodity itself or futures contracts of the commodity. Exchange traded notes (ETN) and exchange traded funds (ETF) are common investment vehicles that are used to track the price of commodities. Both of these instruments are advantageous because they have low expenses ratios.
Commodity ETFs attempts to track the price of a single commodity like oil or gold, or a whole basket of commodities. The ETF either holds actual commodities in storage or buys future contracts on a commodity future exchange. An ETF that holds physical commodities will reduce the amount the commodities backing your shares over time to cover expenses. The ETFs that use future contracts have un-invested cash that is usually invested in government bonds. The ETF has extra cash because futures contract only require a 5-10% payment for the whole value of the contract. The interest on the extra cash is used to cover expenses.
Commodity ETNs are non interest paying debt obligations whose price fluctuates along with the commodities it tracks. They are linked to the performance of a particular commodity or a basket of commodities but as debt instruments they dont actually own anything they are tracking. They are marketed by companies such as iPath, Powershares, etc, and issued by banks like Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS, etc. Since ETNs are debt instruments they are subject to the solvency of the issuer.
Commodity ETFs and ETNs by category
Baskets of Commodities
Symbol RJI Elements exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks Rogers International Commodity Index. It tracks a basket of base metals, precious metals, agricultural commodities, and oil. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by Swedish Export Credit Company.
Symbol GSG iShares exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracks GSCI Commodity-Indexed. The fund tracks the following commodities: Energy, Industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture, and livestock. The fund is traded on NYSE and backed by Goldman Sacks.
Symbol GCC GreenHaven Continuous Commodity Index Fund (ETF) tracks a wide Varity of commodities. The fund is backed by GreenHaven Continuous Commodity Index Fund. It is traded on NYSE.
Symbol UCI USB Bloomberg Commodity note (ETN) tracks a basket of 26 commodity futures contracts representing the energy, precious metals, industrial metals, agricultural and livestock sectors. The note is issued by UBS
Symbol DJP iPath DJ-UBS Commodity Index note (ETN). This note is linked to Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index and tracks a variety of commodities. It is issued by UBS
Symbol GSP iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks GSCI Commodity-Indexed. It tracks the following commodities: Energy, Industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture, and livestock. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by Barclays Bank.
Agricultural commodities
Symbol RJA Elements exchange-traded note (ETN) linked to the Rogers International Commodity Index Agriculture. It tracks a basket of agricultural commodities. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by Swedish Export Credit Company.
Symbol JJA iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) that the tracks Dow Jones-UBS Agriculture Subindex. It tracks a basket of agricultural commodities. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol DBA PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (ETF). It tracks a basket of agricultural commodities. The fund is traded on NYSE and backed by Deutsche Bank.
Symbol NIA iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Cocoa Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Cocoa. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol SGG iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Sugar. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol BAL iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Cotton Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Cotton. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol JO iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Coffee Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Coffee. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol UBC E-TRACS exchange-traded (ETF) tracks the CMCI Livestock index. The index tracks live cattle and lean hogs. The fund is traded on NYSE and backed by UBS.
Symbol COW iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Livestock Subindex. The index tracks live cattle and lean hogs. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol JJG iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Grains Subindex. The index tracks corn, wheat, and soybeans. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol GRU Elements exchange-traded note (ETN) linked to the MLCX Grains Index. It tracks the price of corn, soybeans, soybean oil and wheat. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by Swedish Export Credit Company.
Industrial Metals
Symbol RJZ An exchange-traded note (ETN) linked to the Rogers International Commodity Index Metals. It tracks a basket of precious and industrial metals. The note is traded on NYSE and backed by Swedish Export Credit Company.
Symbol JJM iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Industrial Metals Subindex. The index tracks the price of primary nickel, copper, zinc, and aluminum. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol DBB PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund (ETF). It tracks the price of aluminum, zinc and copper. See details. The fund is traded on NYSE and backed by Deutsche Bank.
Symbol JJU iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Aluminum Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Aluminum. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol JJC iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Copper Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Copper. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol LD iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Lead Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Lead. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol JJN iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Nickel Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Nickel. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol JJT iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Tin Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of Tin. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Energy
Symbol JJE iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Dow Jones-UBS Energy Subindex. The index tracks the price of natural gas, heating oil, unleaded gas, and crude oil. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol GAZ iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of natural gas. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol OIL iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of natural gas. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by Barclays Bank.
Symbol DBO PowerShares DB Oil Fund (ETF). It tracks the price of light sweet crude oil. The fund is traded on NYSE and backed by Deutsche Bank.
Symbol OLO PowerShares DB Crude Oil Long Fund (ETN). It tracks the price of light sweet crude oil. The note is traded on NYSE and backed by Deutsche Bank.
Symbol USL United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP (ETF) tracks the price of light sweet crude. The fund is traded on NYSE and backed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.
Precious Metals
Symbol GLD SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) tracks the price of gold. The fund is traded on NYSE and they hold physical gold in an HSBC Bank vault.
Symbol SLV iShares exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracks the price of silver.
Symbol PALT ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (ETF) tracks the price of platinum.
Symbol PGM iPath exchange-traded note (ETN) tracks the Dow Jones-UBS Platinum Subindex. This is a single-commodity sub-index that is tracking the price of platinum. The note is traded on NYSE and issued by UBS.
Symbol PALL ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (ETF) tracks the price of palladium.