CMDT vs SOYB

CMDTBPIMCO Commodity Strategy Active Exchange-Traded Fund

SOYBBTeucrium Soybean Fund

In short

CMDT PIMCO took the standard commodity futures fund and added the thing it is known for: an actively managed bond portfolio sitting behind the commodity bets. The mandate is to beat the Bloomberg Commodity Index, not mirror it.

SOYB Soybeans, straight up. Since 2011 SOYB has tracked a benchmark of soybean futures for future delivery, wrapped so you can buy the bean in an ordinary brokerage account, and it charges less than the typical commodity futures fund.

Stated mandate

CMDT The fund aims to achieve a total return that outperforms the Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return, while maintaining prudent investment management.

SOYB SOYB seeks to track daily changes in the soybean market for future delivery through its benchmark.

Why people hold it

• CMDT Active by design. The stated objective is to outperform the Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return, not replicate it.
• Two engines in one ticker: swaps, futures and commodity-linked notes for the commodity exposure, an actively managed fixed income portfolio as the collateral behind them.
• A 1940 Act fund that routes commodity-linked exposure through a Cayman subsidiary, so holders get a 1099 rather than a partnership K-1.
• Global commodity reach spread across roughly 300 positions, with cash distributed quarterly.

• SOYB Fee of 0.63% a year sits under the 0.81% median for commodity futures funds, and under diversified rival PDBC at 0.74%.
• A single-crop play, not a commodity grab bag: the fund follows the Teucrium Soybean Index, which tracks daily moves in soybean futures.
• Trading since 2011, a long run for a one-commodity fund, and one of the stronger implementations in its commodity futures peer group.

Worth knowing

• CMDT At 0.98% a year, it sits above cheaper index-based options in the commodity futures group such as PDBC (0.74%) and HARD (0.78%). Active management is what the premium buys.
• Tracking is not the goal here. Manager calls can push results away from the Bloomberg Commodity Index in either direction.
• The bond collateral sleeve brings interest rate and credit sensitivity that a plain futures-and-Treasuries commodity fund does not carry.

• SOYB One crop, one price. Weather, harvest cycles and export demand move soybean futures hard, and there is nothing else in the portfolio to soften it.
• It is a commodity pool, not a standard 1940 Act fund, so the tax paperwork differs from a stock ETF. Check how that lands on your return.
• Mid-sized asset base and moderate turnover mean bid-ask spreads can run wider than on the giant index funds, and the payoff comes from price moves, not income.

Full CMDT profile⁠

Full SOYB profile⁠