The fund tracks an index of global companies that mine and produce industrial metals, excluding gold and silver. It holds large mining companies from many countries around the world, weighted by market capitalization, to reflect the performance of the broader commodities market.

It seeks capital appreciation from expanding global infrastructure investment and rising demand for industrial metals, and it suits investors who need a hedge against rising commodity prices.

Launched by iShares (BlackRock) in 2012, it is a passively managed ETF that tracks an index.

The fund follows a passive strategy that broadly covers global companies involved in the mining, extraction, and production of industrial metals. By excluding gold and silver producers, it offers concentrated exposure to companies that produce the basic materials needed for industrial growth.

• Focus on pure industrial metals producers, excluding gold and silver
• Global diversification spanning developed and emerging markets

Assets under management (AUM) stand at $2.2B, and the expense ratio is 0.39% per year.

Compared with other sector ETFs at similar fee levels, it offers exposure to a distinct asset class, commodities, which can add a differentiated effect to a portfolio.

Volatility can be significant depending on global infrastructure policy and supply chain conditions, and the fund tends to move closely with the prices of major industrial metals such as copper and steel.

The shift toward carbon neutrality and the wider adoption of electric vehicles are lifting long-term demand for key industrial minerals such as copper and lithium, and capital continues to flow steadily into related assets.

By concentrating on commodity producers whose materials are essential to industrial growth, the fund can pursue an inflation hedge and benefit from an economic recovery at the same time, but it carries sector volatility risk.

ETFs listed in the table such as IXN, IXJ, and IXC are global core holdings in technology, healthcare, and energy respectively, and offer sector exposure different from PICK. For a narrower alternative within industrial metals, you could consider XME, which centers on US companies, or COPX, which specializes in copper mining companies. GUNR, which invests across strategic materials, and REMX, which follows the rare earths theme, are also worthwhile comparisons.

These are the key factors to review before deciding to invest in PICK. It is important to fully understand how the commodity sector's price linkage and the global business cycle affect fund performance.

This is a typical cyclical sector, and returns can fluctuate sharply with changes in the macroeconomic environment. In particular, oversupply of a specific metal or a sudden collapse in demand can be severe.

It is an efficient vehicle that provides broad exposure to global industrial metals producers. It is a suitable portfolio component for those who want to invest in an inflation hedge and long-term growth in infrastructure demand.