Home/Commodities/QCB

QCB

$7.15+0%Commodities5/100
Fund Page ↗

BetaShares Commodities Basket ETF · BetaShares

Data as at 29 March 2026

TL;DR

Provides broad commodity exposure across energy, metals, and agriculture through derivatives. Tracks a diversified basket rather than any single commodity.

MER (Annual Fee)
0.69%
#2 lowest in Commodities
1Y Return
+12.8%
3Y Return (p.a.)
+6.4%
Dividend Yield
-
Non-distributing
AUM
$70M
Assets under management
Avg Daily Turnover
$59K
Avg shares × unit price
Unit Price
$7.15
As at 29 March 2026
Provider
BetaShares
Loading chart…

Strategy

Uses futures contracts to provide exposure to a diversified basket of commodities including crude oil, natural gas, gold, copper, wheat, and soybeans. Does not hold physical commodities.

Top Holdings

Key Fact

Commodity ETFs using futures incur roll costs — the cost of replacing expiring futures contracts with new ones. In contango markets (where future prices are higher than spot prices), these costs are significant and systematically drag on long-term returns.

Suited for

Investors who want broad commodity exposure as an inflation hedge or portfolio diversifier. Commodities generally perform differently to equities and bonds.

Risks

Futures-based commodity exposure creates roll costs — when futures contracts expire, replacing them can be expensive in certain market conditions. Roll costs reduce long-term returns relative to spot commodity price movements.

ETFCheck Score5/100
Fees (40%)0
Fund Size (25%)5
Liquidity (20%)18
Yield (15%)0
How scores are calculated →
Other Commodities ETFs
FOOD
0.57% MER
34
OOO
0.69% MER
23View all Commodities ETFs →

Frequently Asked Questions - QCB

How much does contango drag actually cost QCB investors compared to spot commodity returns?+
QCB uses futures contracts to track broad commodities, and contango - where future prices exceed spot prices - erodes returns as contracts are rolled monthly. Historically, this drag can cost 3-8% annually depending on market conditions, which partly explains QCB's modest 12.8% one-year return despite strong underlying commodity prices. Australian investors should compare QCB against equity-based alternatives like FOOD, which avoids roll costs entirely by holding agriculture stocks instead.
What commodities does QCB's basket include and how is it weighted?+
QCB tracks the Bloomberg Commodity Index, covering energy (crude oil, natural gas), agriculture (corn, soybeans), industrial metals (copper, aluminium), and precious metals (gold, silver). Energy and agriculture typically dominate the weighting, making QCB sensitive to global growth cycles. At a 0.69% MER - higher than physical ETFs like ETPMAG at 0.49% - Australian investors pay a premium for diversification across approximately 23 commodity futures markets.
Why does QCB pay no distributions despite holding yield-generating futures positions?+
Commodity futures don't generate dividends or interest income - returns come solely from price movements and roll yield. QCB's zero yield means it offers no franking credits, making it less attractive for income-seeking SMSF portfolios compared to bank ETFs like MVB yielding 4.62%. All QCB returns are realised as capital gains upon sale, so Australian investors holding longer than 12 months benefit from the 50% CGT discount in personal accounts.
Is QCB a good hedge for Australian equity portfolios during stagflation?+
QCB can hedge stagflation because commodities often rise when inflation is high and equities struggle, providing genuine portfolio diversification. However, the futures-based structure means QCB may underperform physical commodity prices during prolonged contango markets, weakening the hedge. Australian investors with significant ASX resource stock exposure through BHP or Fortescue may find QCB's diversification benefits reduced, since their portfolio already carries substantial commodity price sensitivity.