10 Ways You Can Invest in Agriculture

by Christina Lavingia

Regardless of whether you're from America's heartland or hardly give your produce a second thought, there's no denying the economic impact of America's agriculture industry.

Over 22 million Americans work to farm, process and distribute food domestically, according to AgDay.org. While that number might appear small, representing just a fraction of America's workforce, 41 percent of America's land area is used for farming.

You don't have to be a farmer or distributor to take an interest in the success of this industry. Those who'd like to invest in American agriculture can do so through a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund. The team at Credio, a personal finance and investing research site powered by Graphiq, analyzed the best-performing investment funds that feature one or more agriculture-based companies.

The following list features the top 10 performing funds based on three-year adjusted returns (which account for management fees). The list is ranked from lowest to highest returns and also details the expense ratios of the funds. The best-performing ETF on this list saw a 10 percent return for the time period analyzed. While Morningstar states that weather -- and its impact on crop production -- is the biggest variable dictating the price of agriculture commodities, some foresee a growing population triggering a food shortage and subsequent price increase long term.

This information is not intended to be viewed or used as professional investment advice.

10. PowerShares Water Resources ETF

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 2.89%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.61

9. IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 3.40%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.76

8. Global X Lithium ETF

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 3.74%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.77

7. iShares US Basic Materials

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 6.03%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.43

6. PowerShares Global Water ETF

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 6.28%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.76

5. Vanguard Materials ETF

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 8.20%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.10

4. Vanguard Materials Index

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 8.21%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.10

3. Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 8.73%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.14

2. Fidelity Select Chemicals

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 8.74%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.80

1. Guggenheim S&P Global Water ETF

3-Year Adjusted Returns: 10.46%
Prospectus Net Expense Ratio: 0.64

More: How Warren Buffett's Wealth Grew From the 1930s to Today

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