The Gold Decision Framework · Financial exposure

Commodity ETF Guide

Sector exposure without picking companies: precious metals, energy, grains and softs through ETFs and ETCs, and which ones you can buy from where you live.

Last checked 28 September 2026

A single ETF can give you exposure to a whole sector: gold in a vault, a basket of oil producers, a strip of wheat futures. You don't have to analyse individual companies. What you do need to know is what the fund actually holds, because that decides how it behaves.

Financial products only. An ETF or ETC gives you a claim on an issuer, a fund or a custodian, not metal in your own hands. If you want to own the metal itself, that is a separate decision covered in the Dealer Directory.

Four ways a fund gets you exposure

Physical

Metal in a vault

Backed by bars held by a custodian. Tracks the spot price closely. Used for gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Futures

Rolling contracts

Holds futures and rolls them each month. When later contracts cost more (contango), the roll eats into returns, so the fund can lag the price you see quoted.

Equities

Producer companies

Holds shares of miners, drillers or utilities. Diversified across companies, but still moves with the stock market and with management decisions.

Swap

A bank pays the index

A counterparty pays the index return in exchange for collateral. Common for European broad-commodity funds. Adds counterparty risk, limited by UCITS rules.

Price of the commodity ≠ return of the fund. Physical funds track closest; futures funds depend on the roll; equity funds add company and stock-market risk.

Where you live decides what you can buy

United States

Full US menu

All US-listed funds. Some commodity funds are partnerships that issue a K-1 tax form. Physical metal funds are generally taxed as collectibles on long-term gains.

EU & EEA

UCITS ETFs and ETCs

Retail investors usually cannot buy US-listed ETFs, because they have no PRIIPs Key Information Document. Use the Europe-listed versions: UCITS ETFs, and ETCs for single commodities.

United Kingdom

Same restriction, different rule

US ETFs remain mostly off-limits to retail on UK platforms: US funds lack UK Overseas Funds Regime equivalence. The Europe-listed products trade in London too.

Canada

Toronto listings plus US funds

The Toronto exchange lists the Sprott physical gold, silver and uranium trusts and many local ETFs. US-listed funds are generally available through brokers.

Asia

Local listings and US access

Singapore and Hong Kong investors can generally buy US funds; SPDR Gold Shares also trades in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Non-US investors in US funds face US withholding tax on dividends and possible US estate tax above $60,000; Irish UCITS funds avoid the estate-tax issue. India has domestic gold ETFs; overseas investing runs through an annual remittance limit.

Australia & NZ

ASX gold funds

The ASX lists several physical gold ETFs (allocated, unallocated and currency-hedged versions). US funds are available through international brokers.

Middle East

Broker-dependent

Investors in the Gulf can often reach both US and European funds through international brokers; the US estate-tax point applies. Investors needing Shariah compliance should check each fund's status.

Africa

NewGold across the continent

South Africa's JSE lists NewGold and other local ETFs; offshore investing uses annual allowances. NewGold is also listed in Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius and Kenya.

Latin America

Varies by country

Access depends on the local broker and exchange; in Brazil many US ETFs are available as local depositary receipts (BDRs). Check what your broker offers.

The funds

Tickers link to a quote page; ISINs link to the product profile on justETF. Charts are provided by TradingView and show price only, not dividends or distributions. Technical indicators are tools for timing and context, not signals to buy or sell. Listing is not a recommendation: check the fund's documents, costs, tracking and tax treatment in your own country before investing. Regional rules are general summaries and change over time. Educational content to support your own research and decisions. Not financial advice.

Sources

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