HARD vs SOYB

HARDCSimplify Commodities Strategy No K-1 ETF

SOYBBTeucrium Soybean Fund

In short

HARD Most broad commodity funds buy the basket and hold on. HARD runs a systematic long/short model built by Altis Partners across the futures complex, and mails a 1099 instead of a K-1.

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

HARD HARD seeks long-term capital appreciation through systematic investment in commodity futures. Its strategy uses systematic long/short models designed by Altis Partners to pursue commodity exposure across inflationary and typical market environments.

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

Why people hold it

• HARD Long/short by design: the models can take short positions as well as long ones across commodities, not just ride a long-only basket.
• Built as a 1940 Act fund, so holders get standard 1099 paperwork rather than the partnership K-1 some commodity futures funds send.
• A 0.78% expense ratio sits under the median fee in its commodity futures cohort, which is rare for an actively managed futures strategy.
• Lands in the upper half of its commodity futures peer group, in company with broad names like PDBC and DBB.

• 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

• HARD Model-driven and launched in 2023: no index to check it against, and a short live record so far.
• Commodity futures move in big steps, and a long/short book can end up offside on either side of a trade.
• Moderately traded and smaller than the category's giants, so spreads can run wider than the largest commodity ETFs.

• 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 HARD profile⁠

Full SOYB profile⁠