When gas prices rise, people start looking to add oil securities to their portfolios. If you’re curious about investing in oil, oil ETFs are an easy way to do so.
What are oil ETFs?
Oil ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, are baskets of securities that either track the price of oil as a commodity or contain oil stocks. Oil ETFs give investors easy access to a commodity that’s difficult to own and store. But oil prices can swing drastically in either direction and can be closely correlated to global and geopolitical events, making it a complex and often risky investment.
» Want to know more? Learn how to invest in oil
Best-performing oil ETFs
The best-performing oil ETF based on five-year performance is the United States Brent Oil Fund LP. Keep in mind, the best-performing investment today may not be the best one next year — or even next week.
The following oil ETFs are commodities ETFs, meaning they track the price of oil through benchmarks such as the Brent Crude Oil or West Texas Intermediate benchmarks. These ETFs do not hold oil company stocks. This list also includes oil ETNs (more on that below).
Ticker | Company | Performance (Year) |
|---|---|---|
USL | United States 12 Month Oil Fund LP | -4.39% |
USO | United States Oil Fund | -4.76% |
OILK | ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil Strategy ETF | -9.21% |
DBO | Invesco DB Oil Fund | -14.31% |
Source: Finviz. Data is current as of Sept. 3, 2024, and is intended for informational purposes only, not for trading purposes.
» Curious about oil stocks? Explore how to buy oil stocks
What are oil ETNs?
Oil ETNs, or exchange-traded notes, are similar to oil ETFs in that they are both traded on securities exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day, similar to stocks. A major difference between ETFs and ETNs is that ETFs are investment companies registered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and ETFs actually own the underlying assets that you, as an investor, own a part of. ETNs do not own an underlying portfolio of assets, and instead are made up of unsecured debt obligations. ETNs are generally considered riskier investments than ETFs.
» Ready to get started? Check out the best brokers for ETF investors
Advertisem*nt
NerdWallet rating 4.9 /5 | NerdWallet rating 4.3 /5 | NerdWallet rating 4.6 /5 |
Fees $0 per online equity trade | Fees $0 per trade | Fees $0 |
Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 |
Promotion None no promotion available at this time | Promotion 1 Free Stock after linking your bank account (stock value range $5.00-$200) | Promotion Earn up to $10,000 when you transfer your investment portfolio to Public. |
Learn more:
Neither the author nor editor held positions in the aforementioned investments at the time of publication.
