CMDY vs USCI

CMDYAiShares Bloomberg Roll Select Commodity Strategy ETF

USCIDUnited States Commodity Index 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.

USCI A 2010-vintage commodity fund that tracks the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index Total Return, a broad basket of futures, through an old-school commodity pool wrapper and a premium price tag.

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.

USCI USCI seeks to track the daily percentage performance of the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index Total Return, before expenses. The index represents a diversified group of commodities.

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.

• USCI Broad by design: the index spreads exposure across a diversified group of commodities instead of riding one barrel of oil or one bar of gold.
• Rules run it, not hunches. USCI follows a published index, so the rulebook behind the basket is knowable rather than a manager's judgment call.
• Trading since 2010, it carries a real-world record through a full commodity cycle, not a backtest.

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.

• USCI 1.05% a year is a premium in this aisle: BCI charges 0.26%, CMDY 0.29%. That fee gap is the clearest trade-off here.
• It is a commodity pool, not a standard fund wrapper, which is why several rivals market themselves as K-1 free. Tax paperwork differs.
• Trades thinly next to the category's biggest names, which can mean wider spreads. It also runs without a regular distribution schedule.

Full CMDY profile⁠

Full USCI profile⁠