CMDY vs FTGC

CMDYBiShares Bloomberg Roll Select Commodity Strategy ETF

FTGCCFirst Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund

In short

CMDY Commodities without the worst of the futures math. CMDY tracks the Roll Select version of the Bloomberg commodity index, where contract choice is written into the rules to ease rolling costs, and charges 0.29% to do it.

FTGC The broad-commodity fund that picks its own weights. Running since 2013, it sizes futures by volatility instead of copying a production-weighted index, and holds them through a Cayman subsidiary so tax time brings a 1099, not a K-1.

Stated mandate

CMDY The fund seeks to track an index representing a broad range of commodity exposures, using enhanced roll selection on a total-return basis.

FTGC The Fund seeks total returns through commodity exposure while aiming for a relatively stable risk profile.

Why people hold it

• CMDY The name is the strategy. Enhanced roll selection is baked into the index it tracks, so which futures contract to hold is a rule, not an afterthought.
• 0.29% a year sits in the low-fee tier of broad commodity funds, next to BCI, CERY and BCD, and well under what the category typically charges.
• One ticker, a broad basket of roughly 60 futures positions, run on a total-return basis that counts collateral income alongside commodity price moves.
• Live since 2018 under the iShares roof, and one of the stronger implementations in its broad-basket commodity peer group.

• FTGC Genuinely active: weightings across roughly 40 commodity positions are rebalanced in an attempt to stabilize risk levels, not fixed by the production-and-liquidity math behind traditional index baskets.sec.gov
• Futures exposure sits inside a wholly-owned Cayman subsidiary so the fund can stay within 1940 Act tax limits, which means ordinary fund reporting on a 1099 rather than a partnership K-1.sec.gov
• One of the longer-tenured actively managed commodity ETFs, live since 2013, now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively.
• Distributions come quarterly, and the fund measures itself against the Bloomberg Commodity Index, so the manager's calls can be judged against the standard broad basket.

Worth knowing

• CMDY Moderately traded rather than a volume monster. Spreads can run wider than the mega-cap index funds, which shows up most on large or hurried orders.
• It is structured as a commodity pool, not a plain stock fund, so the tax paperwork and reporting work differently. Check the details before filing season.
• Distributions land annually or semiannually, not monthly, and the roll rule addresses futures mechanics only. Commodity prices still swing hard on their own.

• FTGC Active judgment carries an active price: 0.98% a year against a 0.72% median for broad commodity futures funds, with index-tracking rivals like BCI (0.26%) and CMDY (0.29%) far cheaper.
• Risk-based weighting means the sector mix can sit well away from a production-weighted benchmark, so results can diverge from the standard commodity index in either direction.sec.gov
• The prospectus is blunt that commodity-linked derivatives may be considered speculative and can fluctuate widely on macro and commodity-specific shocks. A stable risk profile is the aim, not a promise.sec.gov

Full CMDY profile⁠

Full FTGC profile⁠