Have you ever wondered how billionaires continue to get RICHER, while the rest of the world is struggling?

I study billionaires for a living. To be more specific, I study how these investors generate such huge and consistent profits in the stock markets — year-in and year-out.

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This benchmark seeks to reflect trends in the commodity, currency, and equity futures markets. The index is also fully collateralized, and includes highly-liquid, exchange-listed contracts in the above asset classes.

While FMF will not follow this benchmark, it will seek to hold instruments that are similar to those included in the index. However, the managers of the fund will manage the contract selection and roll periods in order to beat out this benchmark.

The portfolio consists of 34 different futures positions, with 19 different commodities, 9 equity index futures, and 6 currency futures represented. Roughly half of the benchmark goes to commodities, while 25% is in equities, and 25% is in currencies.

The commodities included are 19 of the most liquid contracts on U.S. commodities, while currencies include six of the most widely traded currencies in the world including the Canadian dollar, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, British pound, Swiss franc, and the euro (see 3 Currency ETFs Hit Hard By Taper Talk ).

In terms of equities, index futures are included for many of the most widely-traded benchmarks in Western and developed Asia-Pacific markets. These include the S&P 500 and the TSX, European indexes (DAX, CAC 40, FTSE 100), and Asia-Pacific benchmarks as well (ASX, Nikkei).

Investors should also note that the managers have the ability to go both long and short in the various futures positions. This could allow the fund to outperform if it is short as asset prices are falling, though underperformance could be the result if the wrong bet is made at an incorrect time.

How does it fit in a portfolio?

This new ETF could be appropriate for investors who like the idea of alternative asset class investing, but have had trouble implementing this in their portfolios, due to traditional high barriers to entry by all but the wealthiest investors. Additionally, this product could be ideal for those seeking low-correlation assets that have the potential to add no matter what the current market conditions are.

On the other hand, this ETF may not be a good choice for those seeking a low cost choice, as its 95 basis point cost is higher than what many investors see in some leveraged ETFs. Furthermore, due to its uncorrelated, low volatility strategy, big gains seem unlikely in this fund, suggesting it is probably a poor choice for those seeking huge levels of outperformance, at least in bull markets.

ETF Competition

There are very few other products in the managed futures market, as most of the ETFs currently on the market take either a less active or less involved approach. However, there is one direct competitor that could be a foe for the new First Trust product, the WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund (NYSEARCA:WDTI).