Most Affordable Commodity ETFs

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are uniquely structured investments that track indexes, baskets of assets or commodities. Since the first ETF was launched 20 years ago, the ETF industry has grown into a trillion-dollar business. This growth is due in part to the relative ease with which ETFs can be bought and sold, the ability to sell short and purchase ETFs on margin and the exposure that ETFs provide to commodities - as asset class that not long ago was impractical for individual investors because of the inconvenience and costs associated with transporting, storing and insuring the various commodities. Today's investors and traders can gain exposure to commodities through a growing number of exchange traded funds. Here are the top 10 most affordable commodity ETFs (in terms of expense ratio) for agricultural, diversified, industrial metals, oil and gas and precious metals ETFs.

Agricultural Commodity ETFs
Agricultural commodity products include grains and oilseeds, livestock, dairy, forest and the softs - cocoa, coffee, cotton and sugar. Of the 10 ag ETFs with the lowest expense ratio (shown below), the Dow Jones-UBS Coffee ETN (JO) stands out for its volume with a three-month average of 108,003. Launched on June 24, 2008, the fund invests in a single coffee futures contract, which is continuously rolled-over.

Ticker	Description	Commodity	Expense Ratio
TAGS	Agricultural Fund	Broad	0.32%
FUD	E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Food ETN	Food	0.65%
UAG	E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Agric ETN	Broad	0.65%
LSTK	Pure Beta Livestock ETN	Broad	0.75%
JJS	DJ-UBS Softs Total Return Sub-Index ETN	Broad	0.75%
JO	DJ-UBS Coffee ETN	Coffee	0.75%
NIB	DJ-UBS Cocoa Total Return Sub-Index ETN	Cocoa	0.75%
SGAR	Pure Beta Sugar ETN	Sugar	0.75%
WEET	Pure Beta Grains ETN	Grains	0.75%
SGG	DJ-UBS Sugar Sub-Index Total Return ETN	Sugar	0.75%

The top 10 agricultural ETFs with the lowest expense ratios .

Diversified Commodity ETFs
The funds in this category invest in a variety of commodities. In terms of volume, Rogers Intl Commodity ETN (RJI) beats out the competition with an average three-month volume of 449,421. RJI, which was launched on July 31, 1998, represents the value of 36 commodity futures contracts, including agricultural, energy and metals products. The Dow-Jones UBS Commodity Index (DJP) and the S&P GSCI Total Return Index (GSP) both trade under considerable volume as well with average three-month volumes of 311,067 and 215,057, respectively.

Ticker	Description	Commodity	Expense Ratio
DJCI	DJ-UBS Commodity Index Total Return ETN	Broad	0.50%
BNPC	Stream S&P Dynamic Roll Global Commodities Fund	Broad	0.65%
UCI	E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI ETN	Broad	0.65%
BLND	DJ-UBS Commodity Index 2-4-6 Blended Futures ETN	Broad	0.70%
GSP	S&P GSCI Total Return Index ETN	Broad	0.75%
RJI	Rogers Intl Commodity ETN	Broad	0.75%
SBV	Pure Beta S&P GSCI-Weighted ETN	Broad	0.75%
GSG	GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust Fund	Broad	0.75%
DJP	DJ-UBS Commodity Index TR ETN	Broad	0.75%
BCM	Pure Beta Broad Commodity ETN	Broad	0.75%

The top 10 diversified commodity ETFs with the lowest expense ratios.

Industrial Metals ETFs
Industrial metals include copper, lead, zinc, tin, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and recycled steel. We have listed the top 10 funds having the lowest expense ratios. Most of these ETFs trade under somewhat low volume, with the exception of the Rogers Intl Commodity Metal ETN (RJZ) which has an average three-month volume of 24,372. Launched on Oct. 17, 2007, the fund attempts to track the performance of the Rogers International Commodity Index - Metals Total Return Index. The Index represents the value of a basket of 10 metals commodity futures contracts.

Ticker	Description	Commodity	Expense Ratio
CPER	United States Copper Index Fund	Copper	0.65%
UBM	E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Ind Metal ETN	Broad	0.65%
USMI	United States Metals Index Fund	Broad	0 .70%
LD	DJ-UBS Lead Total Return Sub-Index	Lead	0.75%
JJU	DJ-UBS Aluminum total Return Sub-Index ETN	Aluminum	0.75%
LEDD	Pure Beta Lead ETN	Lead	0.75%
RJZ	Rogers Intl Commodity Metal ETN	Broad	0.75%
JJT	DJ-UBS Tin Total Return Sub-Index ETN	Tin	0.75%
NINI	Pure Beta Nickel ETN	Nickel	0.75%
JJN	DJ-UBS Nickel Total Return Sub-Index ETN	Nickel	0.75%

The top 10 industrial metals ETFs with the lowest expense ratios.

The oil and gas ETFs are comprised of a variety of funds that invest in energy products such as oil, gas and natural gas. Of the commodity ETFs, the oil and gas ETFs are some of the most heavily traded. The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) leads the pack with an average three-month volume of more than 7.8 million. Launched on April 18, 2007, UNG invests in natural gas futures contracts . The United States Oil Fund (USO) also trades under high volume, with more than 5.8 million in average three-month volume. USO, which was launched on April 10, 2006, tracks changes in the price of light and sweet crude-oil-holding futures contracts in WTI Crude.

Ticker	Description	Commodity	Expense Ratio
USO	United States Oil Fund	Crude Oil	0.45%
UGA	United States Gasoline Fund LP	Gasoline	0.60%
UHN	United States Diesel Heating Oil Fund	Heating Oil	0.60%
UNG	United States Natural Gas Fund LP	Natural Gas	0.60%
USL	United States 12 Month Oil	Crude Oil	0.60%
UBN	E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Energy ETN	Broad	0.65%
ONG	Pure Beta Energy ETN	Broad	0.75%
RJN	Rogers Intl Commodity Energy ETN	Broad	0.75%
UNL	United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund	Natural Gas	0.75%
OLO	DB Crude Oil Long ETN	Crude Oil	0.75%

The top 10 gas and oil ETFs with the lowest expense ratios.

Precious Metal ETFs
The precious metal ETFs include those that invest in physical commodities and futures contracts for gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Like oil and gas ETFs, the precious metals ETFs trade under significant volume. Of the 10 we have listed below that have the lowest expense ratios, the Silver Trust (SLV) has an impressive average three-month volume of more than 11 million. With an inception date of April 21, 2006, SLV is designed to track the spot price of silver bullion, holding 100% physical silver bullion. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) also trades under high volume, with an average three-month volume of nearly 10 million. Launched on Nov. 18, 2004, GLD invests in physical gold bullion .

Ticker	Description	Commodity	Expense Ratio
IAU	COMEX Gold Trust	Gold	0.25%
UBG	E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Gold ETN	Gold	0.30%
SIVR	Physical Silver Shares	Silver	0.30%
SGOL	Physical Swiss Gold Shares	Gold	0.39%
AGOL	Physical Asian Gold Shares	Gold	0.39%
USV	E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Silver ETN	Silver	0.40%
GLD	SPDR Gold Trust	Gold	0.40%
SLV	Silver Trust	Silver	0.50%
PPLT	Physical Platinum Shares	Platinum	0.60%
GLTR	Physical Precious Metal Basket Shares	Broad	0.60%

The top 10 precious metals ETFs with the lowest expense ratios.

The Bottom Line
While these ETFs are ranked based on expense ratio, other factors must be considered when determining the affordability or suitability of any exchange traded funds. As with any investment, it is important to perform appropriate research prior to making any investment decisions.