This is an actively managed ETF that invests in companies and commodities across the natural resources industry, including energy, metals and agriculture. By combining the stocks of companies that produce natural resources with direct commodity exposure, it is exposed to resource price cycles and inflation.

It suits investors who want broadly diversified exposure to natural resources and are willing to accept both an inflation hedge and the volatility of the resource cycle.

It is an ETF run with an active (actively managed) approach by ALPS.

The fund actively combines the stocks of companies in the natural resources industry, such as energy, metals and agriculture, with commodity exposure. By spreading its investments across resource producers and raw materials, it is exposed to resource price cycles and inflation trends, and it takes an active approach that uses both equities and commodities to spread risk.

• A combination of natural resource companies and commodities
• Exposure to the resource cycle and inflation

Assets under management (AUM) stand at $440.5M, and the total expense ratio (Expense Ratio) is 0.39% per year.

Compared with natural resource equity ETFs or commodity ETFs, the main point of comparison is its active management that combines companies and commodities.

Natural resources are driven by the global economy, commodity prices, industrial demand and the inflation environment. They tend to be strong when inflation rises or resource demand comes into focus, and weak when the economy slows. Performance diverges depending on the weighting between resource companies and commodities.

Fund flows into natural resource products shift with the inflation outlook, the economic phase and commodity prices, and money sometimes moves into related product groups when demand for inflation hedges grows. It is also worth noting that performance can vary widely depending on the resource cycle and the economic backdrop.

Its strengths are natural resource diversification and an inflation hedge, while economic sensitivity, resource volatility and active management fees are considerations.

For exposure to global natural resource companies, GNR is among the direct substitutes, and for a focus on upstream resource companies, products such as GUNR are also worth comparing. To hold natural resources broadly in a different way, a product such as HAP can also be considered. The three products shown in the table, INFL, MGNR and FEOE, take approaches different from a company-and-commodity combination, through inflation beneficiaries, natural resources and overseas equity strategies respectively, so they serve mainly as reference points. The key differentiator for this ETF is that it actively combines natural resource companies and commodities.

These are the points to review before investing in CCNR. Natural resource diversification is attractive, but economic sensitivity, resource volatility and management fees need to be checked in advance. It is also a good idea to compare it with passive resource products.

Declining resource demand from a global economic slowdown and swings in commodity prices are the main short-term variables, and resource companies and commodities are heavily influenced by the economic cycle. Losses can occur during an economic slowdown.

It is a suitable candidate for investors who want broad diversification across natural resources while pursuing an inflation hedge. Investors who want passive resource exposure should look at products such as GNR and GUNR, while those who want an active combination of companies and commodities should compare this product alongside them before choosing.