What Is the GUNR ETF? A Complete Guide to Returns, Expense Ratio, Holdings and Alternative ETFs
The FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund (GUNR) spreads investments across upstream extraction and production companies in multiple resource sectors, including energy, agriculture, precious metals, industrial metals, timber and water, and it draws interest from investors looking for inflation-hedge plays.
SubscribeWhat Is the FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund ETF?
The fund tracks a Morningstar index that selects only listed companies at the upstream stage of resource extraction and production across the energy, agriculture, precious metals, industrial metals, timber and water sectors.
It suits investors who want a diversified portfolio of real-resource stocks with an inflation-hedge character.
It is a passively managed (index-tracking) ETF run by FlexShares (Northern Trust).
How Does the FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund Invest?
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Tracked Index | Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index |
| Management Style | Passive (index tracking, representative sampling) |
| Rebalancing Frequency | Quarterly |
| Dividend Frequency | Quarterly |
| Total Expense Ratio | 0.46% |
The fund screens for companies concentrated in the upstream stage of extraction and production within natural-resource industries such as energy, agriculture, precious metals, industrial metals, timber and water, and holds them using a representative sampling approach. To ease concentration in any single sector, the index itself applies sector-level caps.
- Index methodology that selects only upstream-stage companies
- Diversified structure across energy, agriculture, metals and water sectors
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund Size and Costs (AUM and Management Fee)
Assets under management (AUM) stand at $7.0B, and the total expense ratio is 0.46% per year.
Compared with other resource-sector ETFs, its distinguishing feature is an index methodology that concentrates on upstream-stage companies.
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund Performance and Trends
1-Year Price Performance
Dividend & Yield
52-Week Price RangeAs a collection of real-resource stocks, the fund shows volatility tied to commodity price cycles, and interest in it has tended to grow when inflation and supply-chain concerns come to the fore.
Driven by demand for inflation hedging and real-asset diversification, fund flows tend to move with the commodity market environment, and it is classified in a category that maintains a sizable asset base across the market.
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund Strengths and Weaknesses
Its strength is diversified exposure to real-resource sectors, while swings in returns driven by commodity price volatility are cited as its weakness.
💪 Key Strengths
⚠️ Points to Watch
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund Alternative ETFs and Related Products
Comparable ETFs in the same category shown in the table take a variety of approaches, including IGF (focused on infrastructure assets), GNR (focused on the same natural resources sector) and GSIE (a global equity factor strategy). For those who want to approach resource sectors in a more granular way, XLE (energy sector focus), XME (metals and mining focus), MOO (agriculture-related stocks focus) and GDX (gold mining stocks focus) are also worth considering as points of comparison.
Peer Comparison ETFs| Ticker | Name | Price | Change | AUM | Total Expense Ratio | Dividend Yield | 1Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 FNDF | Schwab Fundamental International Equity ETF | $53.61 | -0.6% | $25.8B | 0.25% | 3.05% | +21.5% |
 IGF | iShares Global Infrastructure ETF | $65.64 | -0.3% | $10.9B | 0.37% | 2.94% | +7.1% |
 GSIE | Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta International Equity ETF | $46.06 | -0.5% | $6.0B | 0.25% | 2.63% | +11.3% |
 GNR | State Street SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF | $73.80 | -1.2% | $5.4B | 0.40% | 2.47% | +26.1% |
 INTF | iShares International Equity Factor ETF | $41.04 | -0.5% | $3.7B | 0.16% | 3.03% | +12.8% |
Top Holdings| Ticker | Name | Weight | Price | Change | Market Cap | P/E | Dividend Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XOM | ExxonMobil Holdings Corp | 0.10% | $177.46 | -1.2% | $729.7B | 18.2 | 2.34% |
 CTVA | Corteva Inc | 0.10% | $11.88 | -0.3% | $7.9B | 7.8 | 0.75% |
| NTR | Nutrien Ltd | 0.09% | $69.32 | -1.3% | $33.0B | 14.0 | 3.17% |
| BHP | BHP Group Limited ADR | 0.09% | $78.13 | -2.4% | $198.6B | 20.2 | 3.77% |
 SHEH | Shell plc ADRhedged | 0.04% | $75.47 | -0.8% | $0.0M | - | 1.62% |
| CVX | Chevron Corp | 0.04% | $225.27 | -1.1% | $445.1B | 16.5 | 3.17% |
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index Fund Investor Checkpoints
Here are the points to review before investing in GUNR. Given the nature of the real-resource sector, it is important to check commodity price cycles, regional diversification and sector composition together.
| Checkpoint | What to Check | Current Status |
|---|---|---|
| 💵 Expense Ratio | Check cumulative costs over a long holding period | Fee applies |
| 🌍 Regional Diversification | Check the weighting of overseas resource companies | Global diversified structure |
| 🛢️ Sector Composition | Check the weights of energy, agriculture, metals and water | Multi-sector diversification |
| 📉 Volatility | Check whether it moves with commodity price cycles | Exposed to price swings |
Commodity price swings and geopolitical risk from the share of overseas companies are the main drivers of volatility. During an economic slowdown, weaker resource demand can lead to underperformance.
For investors who want diversified exposure across the real-resource sector, it can be considered as a satellite holding in a core-satellite strategy. Those who prefer to focus on a specific sector may also want to review more granular ETFs such as XLE, XME and MOO.
SubscribeDisclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All investment responsibility lies with the investor.
This article reflects information as of July 1, 2026.
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