The folks at a Gotham fund firm are rolling out a new version of a $612-million-AUM (as of July 31) mutual fund that's nearly 13 years old.

Homero Edward "Ed" Lopez VanEck Managing Director, Head of Product Management

Last Wednesday, Roland Morris, portfolio manager for VanEck's [profile] commodity index strategy and commodities strategist for the firm's global resources strategy, and Ed Lopez, head of product management at the New York City-based shop, unveiled the launch of the VanEck CMCI Commodity Strategy ETF (CMCI on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.). The passively managed fund is a series of the VanEck ETF Trust.

CMCI is designed to track the UBS Constant Maturity Commodity Total Return Index, with Morris serving as the fund' PM and Gregory Krenzer as deputy PM. Krenzer and Morris also PM the VanEck Constant Maturity Commodity Index Fund, which debuted on December 31, 2010 and tracks the same UBS index.

The new ETF, whose inception date was last Monday, August 21, had $2.53 million in AUM as of Friday. It comes with an expense ratio of 65 basis points (including 11bps in fee waivers promised through May 1, 2025). By comparison, the existing mutual offers three share classes: A shares (with a $1,000 minimum investment) for an expense ratio of 95bps (plus up to 575bps in up-front loads); class Y shares (with a $1,000 minimum investment) for an expense ratio of 70bps; and class I shares (with a $1-million minimum investment) for the same 65bps expense ratio as the ETF.

Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation serves as administrator and investment advisor to the new ETF, and Van Eck Securities Corporation serves as distributor. UBS serves as the ETF's index provider.

"The CMCI ETF is a powerful addition to the toolkit of investors and advisors looking to enhance commodities exposure in their portfolios, while also mitigating some of the most serious drawbacks that have plagued first-generation commodity indices since their start," Lopez states.

"Traditional or 'first generation' commodity indices typically only trade short-dated futures contracts, which can significantly hinder returns, particularly when commodity markets are in contango," Morris states. "Through a next generation, constant maturity approach, investors can minimize exposure to the front end of the futures curve, with less concentration risk and lower volatility."

CMCI's other service providers include: Dechert LLP as counsel; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent accounting firm; and State Street Bank and Trust Company as custodian, fund accountant, securities lending agent, and transfer agent. 

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