GSG vs. COMT

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF (COMT).

GSG and COMT are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. GSG is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the S&P GSCI Total Return Index. It was launched on Jul 21, 2006. COMT is an actively managed fund by iShares. It was launched on Oct 15, 2014.

Performance

GSG vs. COMT - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF (COMT). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

GSG vs. COMT - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
GSG iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust	39.85%	5.93%	8.52%	-5.51%	24.08%	38.77%	-23.94%	15.62%	-13.88%	3.89%
COMT iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF	35.81%	6.07%	5.96%	-6.56%	19.45%	36.88%	-18.66%	10.81%	-6.67%	11.70%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, GSG achieves a 39.85% return, which is significantly higher than COMT's 35.81% return. Over the past 10 years, GSG has underperformed COMT with an annualized return of 9.09%, while COMT has yielded a comparatively higher 10.23% annualized return.

GSG

• 1D: -1.01%
• 1M: 24.23%
• YTD: 39.85%
• 6M: 40.40%
• 1Y: 41.63%
• 3Y*: 17.03%
• 5Y*: 17.93%
• 10Y*: 9.09%

COMT

• 1D: -1.46%
• 1M: 20.45%
• YTD: 35.81%
• 6M: 35.80%
• 1Y: 37.75%
• 3Y*: 14.15%
• 5Y*: 15.41%
• 10Y*: 10.23%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

GSG vs. COMT - Expense Ratio Comparison

GSG has a 0.75% expense ratio, which is higher than COMT's 0.48% expense ratio.

GSG

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust

COMT

iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF

Return for Risk

GSG vs. COMT — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

GSG

GSG Risk / Return Rank: 91
GSG Sharpe Ratio Rank: 91
GSG Sortino Ratio Rank: 92
GSG Omega Ratio Rank: 89
GSG Calmar Ratio Rank: 94
GSG Martin Ratio Rank: 88

COMT

COMT Risk / Return Rank: 89
COMT Sharpe Ratio Rank: 90
COMT Sortino Ratio Rank: 91
COMT Omega Ratio Rank: 88
COMT Calmar Ratio Rank: 93
COMT Martin Ratio Rank: 86

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

GSG vs. COMT - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF (COMT). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	GSG	COMT	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.98	1.91	+0.07
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.66	2.55	+0.12
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.36	1.35	+0.01
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	3.70	3.35	+0.34
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	10.32	9.53	+0.79
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

GSG vs. COMT - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current GSG Sharpe Ratio is 1.98, which is comparable to the COMT Sharpe Ratio of 1.91. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of GSG and COMT, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	GSG	COMT	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.98	1.91	+0.07
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.82	0.76	+0.07
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.42	0.55	-0.13
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	-0.09	0.20	-0.29

Correlation

The correlation between GSG and COMT is 0.93, which is considered to be high. That indicates a strong positive relationship between their price movements. Having highly-correlated positions in a portfolio may signal a lack of diversification, potentially leading to increased risk during market downturns.

Dividends

GSG vs. COMT - Dividend Comparison

GSG has not paid dividends to shareholders, while COMT's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 5.70%.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
GSG iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
COMT iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF	5.70%	7.74%	4.90%	5.19%	29.79%	17.79%	0.36%	2.61%	11.65%	5.16%	0.52%	1.44%

Drawdowns

GSG vs. COMT - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum GSG drawdown since its inception was -89.62%, which is greater than COMT's maximum drawdown of -51.89%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for GSG and COMT.

Drawdown Indicators

	GSG	COMT	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-89.62%	-51.89%	-37.73%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-11.91%	-11.84%	-0.07%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-29.12%	-29.00%	-0.12%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-57.64%	-39.22%	-18.42%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-57.78%	-1.46%	-56.32%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-63.77%	-24.39%	-39.38%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	4.27%	4.16%	+0.11%

Volatility

GSG vs. COMT - Volatility Comparison

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) has a higher volatility of 11.08% compared to iShares Commodities Select Strategy ETF (COMT) at 10.12%. This indicates that GSG's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than COMT based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	GSG	COMT	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	11.08%	10.12%	+0.96%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	16.24%	15.20%	+1.04%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	21.16%	19.85%	+1.31%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	21.97%	20.53%	+1.44%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	21.78%	18.68%	+3.10%