HARD vs WEAT

HARDCSimplify Commodities Strategy No K-1 ETF

WEATBTeucrium Wheat 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.

WEAT Wheat, straight up. Since 2011 this Teucrium fund has given brokerage-account investors pure-play exposure to CBOT wheat futures, laddered across three contract months rather than piled into the front month.

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.

WEAT The fund seeks cost-effective price exposure to the wheat market through futures for future delivery.

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.

• WEAT Costs 0.62% a year, under the typical fee for futures-based commodity funds. Cheap matters most when the thing you own throws off no income.
• The benchmark splits across three CBOT contracts: 35% second-to-expire, 30% third-to-expire, 35% the following December. Roll risk gets spread down the curve, not stacked on one month.teucrium.com
• Wheat exposure without a futures account: no margin posting, no roll management, no contract expiries on your calendar. Buy it like a stock, sell it like a stock.teucrium.com
• Among futures-based commodity funds, one of the stronger overall packages on cost and structure.

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.

• WEAT It is a commodity pool taxed as a partnership, so shareholders get a Schedule K-1 with Section 1256 treatment (60% long-term, 40% short-term), not a 1099.teucrium.com
• The fund tracks wheat futures, not the spot price. When the curve slopes against you, returns can drift from the wheat headlines you read.teucrium.com
• One crop, one market, and weather sets the price. Swings here run hot compared with diversified commodity baskets, and the fund is built for price exposure, not income.

Full HARD profile⁠

Full WEAT profile⁠