Invest in the Food Industry with Food and Beverage ETFs

If you’re looking to invest in the food industry, then you’ve come to the right place. As you know, ETFs can make your investing life a little easier and there are quite a few choices that target the food and beverage industry as a whole or specific types of food-related products.

So whether you have a sub-sector of the food industry to target like sugar or livestock, or if you want to give your portfolio general exposure to the food market, you have some ETF choices.

You could target food-related commodity futures or a food industry index or even companies involved with specific foods or beverages, but commodities can be a bit difficult to trade for beginner investors, index baskets are not the easiest trades to fill, and targeting equities to gain the right exposure can be taxing.

Enter food ETFs – instant exposure to the food sector with one trade. Each fund is a mini-portfolio targeting your food investing goals. Whether the entire industry or one certain type of food, like corn. And not only are ETFs simple transactions, but they come with many advantages as well, especially the tax benefits. And in some cases, ETFs can save you money on commissions and fees.

So if this all sounds like a good plan to you, here are some exchange traded funds and notes that target the food industry and some sub-sectors as well…

Broad Food Industry ETFs

FUD - UBS E-TRACS CMCI Food Total Return ETN

PBJ - PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF

BARN - Global X Farming ETF

Coffee ETFs

CAFÉ - iPath Pure Beta Coffee ETN

JO - iPath DJ-UBS Coffee Total Return Sub-Index ETN

Cocoa ETFs

CHOC - iPath Pure Beta Cocoa ETN

NIB - iPath DJ-UBS Cocoa Total Return Sub-Index ETN

Sugar ETFs

SGAR - iPath Pure Beta Sugar ETN

SGG - iPath DJ-UBS Sugar TR Sub-Index ETN

CANE - Teucrium Sugar Fund

Wheat and Grains ETFs

GRU - ELEMENTS MLCX Grains Index Total Return ETN

JJG - iPath DJ-UBS Grains Total Return Sub-Index ETN

WEET - iPath Pure Beta Grains ETN

WEAT - Teucrium Wheat Fund

Corn ETFs

CORN - Teucrium Corn Fund

Soybean ETFs

SOYB - Teucrium Soybean Fund

Livestock and Cattle ETFs

COW - iPath DJ AIG Livestock TR Sub-Index ETN

LSTK - iPath Pure Beta Livestock ETN

Make sure you check back often as I will update this list as new funds are created or if any are taken off the market. The one downside to this list is that there is not a plethora of broad food industry ETFs. Nor are their funds for each type of food. But hopefully over time this list grows and the situation improves. In the meantime, this list should be able to get you started.

And if you have any questions about any of these ETFs, do not hesitate to call your broker or consult a financial professional. Each fund should be diligently researched before you make any trade. Know what it is in each ETF and the risks as well. It also might help to watch the fund for a bit before you invest. See how it reacts to different market conditions and follow any news about the ETF, its holdings, and the sector it represents.

Food ETFs are a great way to diversify a portfolio or implement a strategy based on research or opinions you have about the industry. You can even use these ETFs to hedge any food risk you may have in your portfolio from food-related assets or countries where these foods are main exports. But whatever, your investing goals, hopefully ETFs will bear the “fruit” you expect.