Commodities, basic materials, and metals are hot right now, thanks to a variety of factors ranging from the rising interest in advanced battery technology to the growing enthusiasm for gold as a hedge against market volatility. Investing in commodity equities such as nickel stocks can be tricky, though. That’s where investing in a nickel ETF can be a good fit, since a nickel ETF is a fund that provides exposure to nickel prices without requiring investors to buy and store actual nickel.
Nickel, however, hasn't received the same investor interest as other metals. As of August 2025, the price of nickel had dropped about 0.6% since the start of the year. But that's not to say that the price of nickel can't rebound -- especially since the metal is a key ingredient in all sorts of manufacturing and leading technology.
Investing in nickel ETFs
Nickel production companies are highly volatile and sensitive to changes in supply and demand. Investing in individual nickel stocks isn’t for the faint of heart.
Nevertheless, demand for nickel is strong. The elemental metal is one of the most prevalent resources on the planet and is used extensively in manufacturing -- as an ingredient in stainless steel, for example. Technology such as semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries is also expanding and gobbling up more nickel. Investing in a well-diversified exchange-traded fund (ETF) made up of nickel and nickel companies might make sense right now.
With that in mind, here are four ETFs that provide investors with exposure to nickel:
ETF | Assets Under Management | Annual Fee | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (NYSEMKT:GNR) | $3.2 billion | 0.40% | An ETF that provide exposure to the largest stocks in agriculture, energy, and metals and mining. |
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (NYSEMKT:XME) | $2.1 billion | 0.35% | A basket of metal production and mining stocks. |
iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (NYSEMKT:PICK) | $761 million | 0.39% | A diversified mix of mining operations, including nickel miners. |
VanEck Steel ETF (NYSEMKT:SLX) | $87.1 million | 0.56% | An ETF that tracks the performances of companies involved in the steel sector. |
1. SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF
NYSEMKT: GNR
Key Data Points
A good place to start a search for a nickel ETF is with the SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR +1.03%). Providing diverse exposure to agriculture stocks as well as energy stocks and metals stocks, the SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF includes BHP Group (BHP -0.16%), a global leader in the production of base metals such as nickel, as its third-largest holding with a 4.9% weighting. Additionally, the fund has other leading nickel producers such as Glencore (GLNC.Y +0.42%) and Vale (VALE +0.33%).
Primarily comprised of materials stocks -- a weighting of about 61% --the SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF has more than 97 holdings, and it rewards investors with distributions on a semiannual basis. And it's not a meager amount, either. As of August 2025, the ETF reported a 3% 30-day SEC yield.
2. SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF
NYSEMKT: XME
Key Data Points
4. VanEck Steel ETF
NYSEMKT: SLX
Key Data Points
Even more so than the exposure that the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF provides, the VanEck Steel ETF (SLX +0.04%) is singularly focused on providing investors with exposure to the leading steel stocks. The top holding in the ETF is Rio Tinto (RIO +0.04%), one of the world's largest diversified mining companies, while Vale stands as the ETF's second-largest position. Combined, Rio Tinto and Vale represent a nearly 20% weighting in the ETF. Steel producers Nucor and Steel Dynamics also figure prominently in the ETF.
The VanEck Steel ETF has approximately $87 million in assets under management, so it's a smaller option than some other nickel ETFs. Making distributions on an annual basis, the VanEck Steel ETF has a 30-day SEC yield of 2.2%.
Related investing topics
Nickel ETFs provide industry diversification
For investors who want to introduce nickel production and any potential growth from the metal mining industry to their portfolio, a nickel ETF can help provide some diversification. However, this diversification is only at the industry level and provides limited safety from individual company stocks going haywire and upending overall investment performance.
Bear in mind that nickel prices and mining in general can be a volatile space. A nickel ETF should be paired with an assortment of investments from other industries and various investment classes to achieve true portfolio diversification.
Nevertheless, nickel is a promising investment theme that’s worth some research. With top technologies heavily relying on this elemental metal, it could provide healthy returns over the next decade.
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