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United States Commodity Index Funds Trust
The trust was established to provide investors access to commodity price movements through a regulated, exchange-traded vehicle.
United States Commodity Index Funds Trust
The trust was established to provide investors access to commodity price movements through a regulated, exchange-traded vehicle. It operates as a Delaware statutory trust issuing shares that track the performance of underlying commodity indexes. The funds are organized as commodity pools under the Commodity Exchange Act and are managed with an objective of reflecting the percentage changes of specified benchmark indexes. The trust's flagship United States Oil Fund (USO) employs a primarily long-only futures rolling strategy on crude oil contracts traded on NYMEX. Similarly, the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) tracks Henry Hub natural gas futures. The trust also offers the United States 12 Month Oil Fund (USL) and United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO), each designed to address different term-structure exposures. The funds have attracted significant institutional and retail participation, with average daily volume exceeding 10 million shares in recent years. As of the trust's most recent filings, total assets across all its funds have fluctuated with commodity price cycles, but the trust remains one of the largest commodity ETF issuers by market share. The trust does not disclose the number of professionals, and its governance is handled by the trustee and commodity pool operator. There are no known additional offices or philanthropic vehicles formally attached to the trust. A key structural differentiator is the trust's legal form — it is designed as a commodity pool that issues exchange-traded shares, allowing for secondary market liquidity that is unusual for direct commodity investments. This structure also imposes specific regulatory oversight under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, making it subject to position limits and reporting requirements distinct from conventional ETFs. The trust does not actively manage capital or take principal positions beyond implementing its rolling futures strategy.
General information
Firm type
Trust
Year founded
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AUM
Undisclosed
Location
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City
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Corporate office
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Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What does United States Commodity Index Funds Trust do?
It is a Delaware statutory trust that issues exchange-traded shares in commodity index funds. The trust's most well-known funds are the United States Oil Fund (USO) and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), which track the performance of crude oil and natural gas futures indexes, respectively. The trust is a publicly-owned, pass-through vehicle for commodity price exposure.
Is United States Commodity Index Funds Trust a family office or investment firm?
No. It is a trust structure that operates as a commodity pool under CFTC regulation. It issues shares traded on public exchanges like the NYSE Arca. It does not manage private capital or act as a discretionary investment advisor in the traditional sense.
Who manages the trust's funds?
The trust's commodity pool operator is United States Commodity Funds LLC, which makes all operational and investment decisions. The trust itself does not have named principals or a visible team beyond what the operator discloses. The operator is subject to SEC and CFTC filing requirements.
What is the investment strategy of USO and UNG?
USO seeks to track the daily percentage change of the spot price of light sweet crude oil as measured by the Benchmark Oil Futures Index. It achieves this primarily through a rolling long-only futures strategy on NYMEX crude oil contracts. UNG similarly tracks natural gas futures. The trust does not employ leverage, short selling, or active tactical allocation.
Who invests in the trust's funds?
Both retail and institutional investors buy shares of the trust's funds through brokerage accounts. Due to the liquidity and exchange-traded structure, USO and UNG attract a wide range of market participants, including hedge funds, pension funds, and individual traders. The trust does not limit share ownership.
Does the trust use any alternative data or proprietary models?
No. The trust's investment methodology is mechanically tied to rebalancing futures contracts based on index methodology set by US Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations and the fund's prospectus. There is no active capital allocation decision-making.
What is the tax treatment of the trust's shares?
The trust is structured as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This means investors are treated as direct owners of the underlying trust assets (the commodity futures positions) and receive a Form K-1 rather than a Form 1099. This tax status is a key difference from standard ETFs.
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