The iShares Global Natural Resources ETF Portfolio

One consequence of market cap-weighted indexing is that certain sectors get far less representation than their economic importance might suggest.

Take the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI), which represents the global stock market: it currently allocates 24.44% to tech and 17.83% to financials. In contrast, energy and materials each get just 3.61% and 3.57%, respectively.

That’s a pretty big mismatch when you consider the foundational role natural resources play in everything from infrastructure to consumer goods.

If you want to correct that imbalance and overweight global resource equities, I’ve got a concentrated ETF portfolio idea that combines three iShares funds focused on materials, energy, and forestry.

Just be aware—while these ETFs can help hedge against inflation and throw off decent income, you should also be prepared for plenty of volatility and cyclicality along the way.

iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF (WOOD)

One-third of this portfolio goes to WOOD, which tracks the S&P Global Timber & Forestry Index. This ETF represents a concentrated basket of just 26 companies. It isn’t a household name with just $205 million in AUM, but that’s still safely above the closure risk zone.

It’s also a unique ETF. Top holdings include Weyerhaeuser, the largest timberland-owning real estate investment trust (REIT) in the U.S., known for managing millions of acres of forest while paying out consistent income. Other holdings like PotlatchDeltic and Rayonier follow a similar business model, just on a smaller scale.

The rest of the portfolio includes paper and pulp manufacturers, which produce the raw material for products like cardboard and tissues, along with container and packaging companies that serve the shipping and consumer goods industries. Only 31.84% of the portfolio is U.S.-based, giving you real global exposure.

The expense ratio sits at 0.41%, standard for a niche sector ETF, and investors can currently expect a 3.12% 30-day SEC yield.

iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (PICK)

Another third of the portfolio goes to PICK, which tracks the MSCI ACWI Select Metals & Mining Producers Ex Gold & Silver Investable Market Index.

As the name suggests, this ETF specifically excludes precious metals miners, so you won’t find gold or silver here—just producers of base metals like copper, aluminum, nickel, and steel, as well as diversified mining companies.

Compared to WOOD, PICK is more diversified, simply because the mining sector plays a more prominent role in global equity markets than timber.

Top holdings include companies often mentioned at environmental protests: BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore, and Freeport-McMoRan, all major players in the extraction and processing of industrial metals.

PICK is also a larger ETF, with $739 million in AUM, and slightly cheaper, carrying a 0.39% expense ratio. It currently offers an above-average 3.03% 30-day SEC yield.

iShares MSCI Global Energy Producers ETF (FILL)

The final 33% of the portfolio goes to FILL, an under-the-radar ETF with just $76 million in AUM, but it’s my personal favorite for broad energy exposure. It tracks the MSCI ACWI Select Energy Producers Investable Market Index, giving you global coverage of upstream energy producers.

This means you get the non-U.S. supermajors like Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP, plus Canadian heavyweights such as Canadian Natural Resources and Suncor. But FILL also includes a healthy dose of emerging market oil giants, such as Saudi Aramco, Petrobras, and PetroChina, which are often missing from U.S.-centric energy ETFs.

Importantly, FILL sticks to pure upstream exposure—it includes thermal coal miners, but excludes midstream MLPs and pipeline operators like Kinder Morgan or Enterprise Products, as well as downstream refiners and service companies like Schlumberger and Baker Hughes. That makes it a cleaner play on exploration and production.

The fund splits the difference on costs with a 0.4% expense ratio, and it offers the highest 30-day SEC yield of the trio at 4.14%, making it a solid pick for yield-focused natural resource investors.

Putting it together

You can slice and dice the allocations as you like, but I prefer to keep it simple: one-third each to WOOD, PICK, and FILL, rebalanced annually. The weighted average expense ratio for this portfolio comes in at 0.40%, and the weighted average 30-day SEC yield is roughly 3.43%.

Performance-wise, it’s been subpar over the long run. From February 2, 2012 to May 23, 2025, this natural resources trio returned a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.47%, trailing the 9.94% CAGR of the MSCI ACWI Index. That underperformance reflects the cyclical, boom-or-bust nature of the underlying sectors.

That said, the portfolio showed its value as an inflation hedge in standout years like 2022, when it returned 8.6% while ACWI fell 22.3%.

So the use case is clear: this is a highly contrarian, high conviction bet on sectors the market tends to overlook until inflation or scarcity reasserts their relevance. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s certainly different.