COPX vs ICOP

COPXCGlobal X Copper Miners ETF

ICOPBiShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF

In short

COPX Owning the diggers instead of the metal: about 40 copper-focused miners worldwide in one index fund, trading since 2010 and now a multi-billion-dollar mainstay of a very small niche.

ICOP The copper-miner aisle has a price leader. ICOP tracks a global index of copper and metals miners for 0.47% a year, the lowest sticker in its peer group, with BlackRock's indexing machinery behind it.

Stated mandate

COPX The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Solactive Global Copper Miners Total Return Index.

ICOP The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. and non-U.S. equities of companies primarily engaged in copper and metal ore mining.

Why people hold it

• COPX Equities, not futures. It tracks a Solactive index of roughly 40 global copper miners inside a standard 1940 Act fund, so no contract rolls and no K-1 at tax time.
• 0.65% a year, a shade under the median fee among copper mining ETFs, and it is one of the more actively traded names in the group.
• The veteran of the category. Listed in 2010, it has years of live trading and multi-billion-dollar scale behind it while rivals are still filling out their order books.
• Clean mandate: one index, one theme, global reach. What it holds is what it says on the tin, and it has tracked that benchmark closely.

• ICOP At 0.47% a year it is the cheapest fund in the copper-mining cohort, undercutting COPX (0.65%), COPP (0.66%), COPJ (0.75%) and KCOP (0.99%), and sitting below the group's 0.66% median.
• A rules-based pure play: it follows the STOXX Global Copper and Metals Mining Index, holding companies primarily engaged in copper and metal ore mining. Miners' shares, not copper futures, and no stock-picking.ishares.com
• Global by mandate, not by accident: the index reaches U.S. and non-U.S. miners, which is where much of the world's copper actually trades. Distributions are paid quarterly.ishares.com
• One of the stronger builds in a small copper-mining field, pairing the lowest fee in the group with a mainstream iShares index wrapper.

Worth knowing

• COPX iShares' ICOP charges 0.47% versus 0.65% here. COPX's edge is trading depth and history, not the sticker price.
• Miners amplify the copper price in both directions, and with about 40 names tied to one metal, the ride is far bumpier than broad materials exposure.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, so this is a commodity-equity sleeve rather than an income holding.

• ICOP Non-diversified by design: a few dozen miners levered to one metal, with the largest names carrying a big slice. Copper prices and mine-level news drive the ride.ishares.com
• A large share of the basket is listed outside the U.S., so currency moves and foreign market risks come along with the copper exposure.ishares.com
• It launched in 2023, so the live record is short, and trading is moderate rather than heavy. Limit orders earn their keep on bigger tickets.

Full COPX profile⁠

Full ICOP profile⁠