iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF’s Process Pillar rating is Average, but a strong management team still helps this strategy retain its Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze. The portfolio maintains a cost advantage over competitors, priced within the least expensive fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy’s management team earns an Above Average People Pillar rating. The strategy merits an Average Process Pillar rating.  Low liquidity risk exposure is attributed to stocks with a low trading volume, limiting managers' flexibility. And low volatility exposure is rooted in stocks that have a lower standard deviation of returns. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Above Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

Analyst Rating

Weyerhaeuser

International Paper

PotlatchDeltic

Rayonier

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.

WestRock

Sylvamo Corp

Scienjoy Holding Corp

SAP SE

Bill.com

Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category index on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF earns an Average Process Pillar rating. The leading factor in the rating is that this fund tracks an index. Historical data, like Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, finds that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. The process is limited by the fund's weak long-term risk-adjusted performance. This can be seen in its five-year alpha calculated relative to the category index, which suggests that the process has struggled over that period.

The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is:  The investment seeks to track the investment results of the S&P Global Timber & Forestry IndexTM composed of global equities in or related to the timber and forestry industry.  The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities and may invest up to 20% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, and cash and cash equivalents. The fund is non-diversified. 

 The portfolio is overweight in consumer cyclical and real estate relative to the category average by 17.5 and 16.8 percentage points, respectively. The sectors with low exposure compared to category peers are energy and industrials, underweight the average by 27.8 and 9.0 percentage points of assets, respectively. The portfolio is positioned across 73 holdings and is relatively concentrated. In particular, 57.9% of the fund’s assets are housed within the top 10 holdings, compared with the typical peer's 23.9%. And in closing, in terms of portfolio turnover, on a year-over-year basis, 29% of the fund's holdings have turned over, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

Average

Process

iShares’s equity team is strong compared with others in the industry, resulting in an Above Average People Pillar rating. There are three managers listed on the fund: Paul Whitehead, Jennifer Hsui, Greg Savage. The team is well equipped, with an average of 18 years of portfolio management experience. Together, they manage a total of 257 strategies, with a Silver asset-weighted average Morningstar Medalist Rating, indicating the potential to deliver positive alpha relative to the category median in aggregate.  

 Note: This People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. Morningstar analysts evaluate the People Pillar for passive products at the brand level and may also differentiate by asset class. There is at least one other passive strategy at the firm that is covered by a Morningstar analyst, so the People Pillar rating of the fund is inherited from the rating that the Morningstar analyst assigned to investment vehicles under the same brand name.

Above Average

People

BlackRock offers compelling options across asset classes and vehicles. It earns an Above Average rating for Parent. 
The firm’s approximately USD 8 trillion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, 2022, gives it unparalleled scale and influence. It is a market-leading index fund provider globally, and its iShares exchange-traded fund franchise offers a low-cost lineup of core funds that investors can use to build a well-diversified portfolio for dirt cheap. The firm can be more adventurous in its ETF launches than some peers, so not everything it launches is appropriate for the masses. As a result, it is likely to have more ETF closures than peers that stick to the basic building blocks.  
The firm’s active fixed-income and multi-asset efforts also stand out as some of the best in the industry. Those benefit from BlackRock’s commitment to building a first-class risk management system via its Aladdin analytics software. The software is also available for sale to other firms and has proved to be a popular option for competitors, a testament to its usefulness. 
More recently, the firm has shifted its focus to ESG offerings and incorporating ESG across its investment lineup, leading to a political backlash in the United States.
BlackRock isn’t the best at everything it tries to do, but retail investors, financial advisors, and large institutions could all build robust portfolios using BlackRock’s products.

Parent

iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF

WOOD tracks a narrow index of the 25 largest publicly listed companies from developed and emerging markets that own or manage forests and timberlands.

United States Copper Index Fund

Invesco MSCI Global Timber ETF

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This has been a messy week if you ask me. Yields rose, Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) fell, stocks largely, and volatility is, well, volatile.

What Is Going on With Lumber and Copper Prices This Week?

Lumber prices are influenced by interest rates and the liquidity of lumber futures.

WOOD: The Pros And Cons Of A Lumber Investment

iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF tracks the S&P Global Timber & Forestry Index, offering exposure to companies in the timber and forestry sector. Timber and forestry products have a stable market and can act as a hedge against inflation. WOOD provides diversification, potential for growth, and aligns with sustainable investing considerations, but carries risks of market volatility, sector concentration, and interest rate sensitivity.

WOOD: It's No Lumber, But It's A Good Sector

The iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF provides targeted exposure to companies in the timber and forestry sector. Looking at the WOOD ETF's historical performance, it does not appear to have any portfolio diversification benefits as it is highly correlated to equity markets. Investors should monitor developments in the carbon credit space, as timberland operators are exploring new sources of revenue.

WOOD: Targeted Exposure To Forestry Sector But Highly Correlated To Equity Markets

Lumber prices staged a 3-day rally of 10% despite continued headwinds in the housing market. The average 30-year mortgage rate closed in on 6% this week, hitting its highest level since 2008.

Lumber prices defy the most recent surge in mortgage rates to extend 3-day rally to 10%

WOOD includes commodity exposures in lumber, pulp, and cyclical exposures in packaging companies. Packaging companies are suffering due to pressure from faltering Chinese demand. Lumber, timber and pulp prices also have downside from current levels given outstanding economic risks. Current price data has shown some declines since last reports.

WOOD: China Is Somewhat Of A Problem

Hoya Capital Housing ETF

iShares U.S. Insurance ETF

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF

Vanguard Financials ETF

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF

The U.S. home-building market exhibits a strong recovery of late, owing to the limited inventory and increased demand. This recovery should benefit some industries that are allied to the housing industry.

7 ETF Areas to Gain from a Rebounding Housing Market

Lumber prices jumped on Tuesday after US housing starts surged by the most in three decades. Housing starts soared 21.7% in May to 1.63 million units, which was well ahead of economist estimates.

Lumber prices jump after US housing starts unexpectedly soar more than 20% in May

Lumber prices have experienced extreme volatility in recent years due to low liquidity and macroeconomic factors. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange introduced a new physical lumber futures contract to improve liquidity, but it remains low. The iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF tends to move with lumber futures prices and could be a suitable investment for those looking to position for a recovery in the lumber market.

The WOOD ETF Provides Exposure To Lumber Prices

The longtime barometer of wood prices and building activity is being replaced with a new lumber-futures contract in an effort to boost trading.

RIP, Lumber-Futures Contract That Jumped During Covid-19

When it comes down to it, lumber is at the core of my research. It's now been eight years since my original research paper talked about the relationship between lumber and gold and how its predictive nature could help mitigate portfolio risk.

Housing Market Crash Alert: Why Investors Should Pay CLOSE Attention to Lumber Prices

Lumber prices are stable - a new contract makes lumber hedging more versatile. Lumber remains highly illiquid, increasing the chances of explosive and implosive price action.

Lumber And The WOOD ETF

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iShares Gold Trust

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Commodities ran hot in 2022, and despite a more muted second half, fared well in a tough year that saw both stocks and bonds falter.

VettaFi Voices On: The 2023 Outlook for Commodities

Lumber was one of 2022's worst commodity performers, and it has been volatile at the start of this year, but prices may gain on the back of a housing shortage.

Long-term lumber demand looks to benefit from U.S. ‘population demographics'

"If the homebuilders' January momentum proves sustainable

Lumber falls 21% in 8-day losing streak, but analysts see a bottom forming for the key building commodity

The National Association of Realtors said it expects the median home price to increase 0.3% this year, compared to a near-10% gain in 2022.

Lumber soars 13% as the housing market shows signs of a rebound for the first time in a year

A further rise in lumber prices would be a positive for producers, but not so much for consumers who are still reeling from high levels of inflation.

Lumber prices are up 14% in 2023 after tanking last year, and a lack of supply could fuel another surge ahead of key homebuilding season

"NAHB is expecting weaker housing conditions to persist in 2023 and we forecast a recovery coming in 2024," economist Robert Dietz said.

Lumber falls to a new 2022 low after homebuilder sentiment drops for the 12th month in a row

Lumber has the dubious honor of being among the biggest commodity price decliners this year, and the outlook for the market doesn't look to improve anytime soon.

What's next for lumber as it looks to be 2022's worst-performing commodity

Lumber futures are sleeping but holding the $400 per 1,000 board feet level. The new physical contract is trading at a premium to the old random-length contract.

Putting The WOOD ETF On Your Investment Radar

"At 7% interest rates I wouldn't expect lumber to do much for a while," Ashley Boeckholt of MaterialsXchange told Insider.

Lumber prices have defied a cooling housing market to climb 26% in October, but surging mortgage rates will keep a lid on further upside

We called it again with the Russia risk in timber markets back in February. Russia is retaliating against sanctions by stopping the export of Russian birch.

WOOD Is Also Running Into A Russia Problem

Lumber prices have dropped by more than 60% so far this year, but don't count on a recovery soon. Higher interest rates and inflation will continue to slow demand for single-family homes.

Lumber prices have dropped by more than 60% this year, and have room to fall even further

Lumber prices have dropped by more than 60% so far this year, but don't count on a recovery soon. Higher interest rates and inflation will continue to slow demand for single-family homes.

Lumber Prices Plunge as Higher Rates Hit Home Buyers

Homebuilders like Lennar and KB Home are walking away from 19,000 residential land deals due to the soured outlook in the housing market.

News for iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF ETF (WOOD)