CMDY vs NBCM

CMDYAiShares Bloomberg Roll Select Commodity Strategy ETF

NBCMCNeuberger Berman Commodity Strategy ETF

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.

NBCM Most broad commodity funds just track an index and rebalance on schedule. NBCM runs quantitative models to shift weights across commodity sectors, backed by a fixed-income collateral sleeve. Active management in a mostly passive aisle.

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.

NBCM The Fund seeks commodity exposure through commodity-linked derivatives and fixed-income instruments. It uses quantitative models to identify opportunities and set portfolio weights across multiple commodity sectors.

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.

• NBCM Actively managed, not index-tethered: quantitative models set the weights across commodity sectors instead of locking in a benchmark's fixed recipe.
• Two working parts: commodity-linked derivatives for the exposure, fixed-income instruments backing them, so the collateral behind the futures isn't sitting idle.
• Spread across multiple commodity sectors, energy to metals to ags, rather than riding one barrel or one bar of gold.
• Sits in the upper half of the broad commodity futures group on our review, with portfolio construction the strongest part of the build.

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.

• NBCM At 0.76% a year, it costs more than the index workhorses it competes with: BCI runs 0.26%, CMDY 0.29%. That gap is what the quant model has to cover.
• Structured as a commodity pool, so the tax paperwork and regulatory treatment differ from a plain stock ETF. Worth a look before it hits your return.
• Launched in 2022 and only moderately traded, so the live record is short and spreads can run wider than at the category's giants. Limit orders help.

Full CMDY profile⁠

Full NBCM profile⁠