A Dynamic Strategy for Dynamic Commodity Markets – USCF Investments – 2.18.26

Summary:

Since the start of the 2020’s, investors and financial advisors have suffered economic whiplash from the sharp back-and-forth moves within many important markets including commodities. The prior decade was much more sanguine and offered no preparation for the last five years. After the 2008-09 financial crisis and unprecedented fiscal and monetary policy interventions, the 2010’s experienced near zero interest rates, lower-than-target inflation, and financial markets that couldn’t seem to do wrong. That relatively worry-free environment is no more, beginning with COVID-19 in early 2020, a disputed election and rising national social discord, inflation spiking higher to 9% (!), the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and we haven’t even got past 2022 yet! An appropriate slogan to describe investing now might be “Ignore inflation (and commodities) at your peril.”

These challenging conditions have been marked by shifting fundamentals and high price volatility, and a dynamic approach is required to keep pace with the dynamic markets. The SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index (SDCITR) rebalances completely each month guided by scarcity-focused fundamental commodity data. We will review the rationale and efficacy for SDCITR’s approach, with comparison to traditional indexes that rebalance only once a year (or less) focused on size and liquidity.

Accepted for 1 CFP / IWI / CFA CE Credit

Speakers:

Kurt is the CEO and Founder of SummerHaven. He previously ran the commodity index business for UBS and led the successful effort to acquire and integrate AIG’s commodity index business. Prior to joining UBS, Kurt structured commodity index and equity derivative solutions for clients of AIG Financial Products. SummerHaven Index Management, LLC creates innovative fundamental indexes focused on providing investors with better risk-adjusted returns than traditional indexes. The firm is led by a seasoned management team with over 110 years of collective financial markets experience with commodity futures, equity and fixed income markets. USCF has partnered with SummerHaven on several funds including the United States Commodity Index Fund (USCI), the United States Copper Index Fund (CPER), the USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund (SDCI) and the USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund (GLDX).

John P. Love is President and Chief Executive Officer of USCF, a Walnut Creek, California based investment firm.

Mr. Love previously served as Senior Portfolio Manager for USCF’s products, including the United States Oil Fund (USO) and United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), the largest oil and natural gas ETFs in the U.S. Since USCF’s founding, Mr. Love has contributed to the firm’s evolution through operations, trading, research, product development, marketing, capital markets, and more.

Mr. Love is a graduate of the University of Southern California. He holds NFA Series 3, 30 and FINRA Series 7, 63 registrations and is a CFA Charterholder.