Critical materials · miners · ETF deep dive
Sprott Critical Materials ETF SETM
One basket for the metals the energy transition and rearmament actually run on — copper, uranium, lithium, rare earths, nickel and silver miners — so no single commodity cycle makes or breaks it.
Price & momentum chart & stats through 2026-08-28
Data summary: last close $34.68 on 2026-08-28, 13% below the 52-week high of $39.73, 61% above the 52-week low of $21.53; trading above its 200-day average of $33.03. Trailing returns: YTD +15%, 1-year +61%, 3-year +101%.
What it holds
Top 10 holdings
| Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| NAC Kazatomprom (uranium) | KAP | 5.6% |
| Freeport-McMoRan (copper) | FCX | 5.4% |
| Lynas Rare Earths | LYC | 4.8% |
| Cameco (uranium) | CCJ | 4.7% |
| Pilbara Minerals (lithium) | PLS | 3.9% |
| Albemarle (lithium) | ALB | 3.6% |
| Teck Resources | TECK | 3.4% |
| Uranium Energy | UEC | 3.3% |
| Sociedad Quimica y Minera (lithium) | SQM | 3.2% |
| MP Materials (rare earths) | MP | 3.2% |
Top-10 ≈ 41% of the fund (156 holdings total). Positions as of 2026-07-13, from the issuer fact sheet (source). Holdings drift daily; weights are a snapshot, not live.
Sector mix live, FMP
- Basic Materials74.2%
- Energy25.0%
- Industrials0.7%
- Consumer Defensive0.1%
What this fund is
SETM tracks the Nasdaq Sprott Critical Materials Index, co-developed by Nasdaq and Sprott. It selects companies that derive roughly half or more of revenue and/or assets from mining, exploration, production, recycling or refining of critical / energy-transition materials.
That basket is deliberately broad: copper, uranium, lithium, silver, rare earths, nickel, manganese, graphite, plus recyclers. So SETM is a thematic supply-chain bet, not a single-metal fund — no one spot price tracks it. (The fund was previously branded 'Energy Transition Materials'; same fund, rebranded.)
Like all miner funds it is high-beta to the underlying materials, amplifying moves both ways. But the multi-commodity mix means a lithium down-cycle can be offset by a uranium up-cycle in the same year.
The Synthos read
How the tracked themes this fund rides are reading right now — conviction-weighted net stance from independent expert voices in the Synthos knowledge base (management/officials laned out). Snapshot as of 2026-08-28.
| Tracked theme | Net stance (−100 to +100) | Recent drift | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper / industrial metals Copper miners (Freeport, Teck) are a core sleeve; the copper/electrification theme is a primary driver. | up +100 Very Bullish | +39, turned more bullish 20 claims | Provisional |
| Silver & precious metals Silver is one of several materials here — a minor sleeve, not the main event. | up +63 Very Bullish | slightly more bearish 20 claims | Provisional |
Reliability tiers: Full ≥ 25 claims in the current window, Provisional 10–24, Insufficient < 10 (read as directional only). Net stance is a rate-of-change signal about the theme, not a price target for this fund and not advice. Themes can be right while the fund’s structure works against you.
Cost & structure
Expense ratio 0.65% (issuer, cross-checks against FMP).
1940-Act open-end ETF (Sprott Funds Trust), listed on Nasdaq, inception 2023 — a relatively short live history versus the decade-old Global X miners.
The index rebalances semi-annually (June and December). ~157 holdings; roughly three-quarters in non-US (foreign) issues.
Honest fit
The job it does
- Single-ticket exposure to the whole critical-materials supply chain — the metals behind electrification, grid, nuclear and defense.
- Diversifies single-commodity risk: uranium, copper and lithium cycles rarely move together.
- Captures the structural supply-deficit narrative across multiple metals at once.
What it does not do
- Is not a bet on any one metal — if you want pure copper or pure uranium, this blends them away.
- Will not track any physical commodity 1:1 — it is diversified miner equity with operating and jurisdiction risk.
- Is not the same as SIL or COPX despite name overlap (Freeport, Teck appear in all three) — it is far broader.
What would change this read (falsifiers)
- A global industrial recession that drags every critical-metal cycle down together, defeating the diversification.
- A policy reversal on energy-transition / nuclear subsidies that removes the structural demand thesis.
- Its short track record (since 2023) means the diversification claim is untested across a full down-cycle — watch it prove out.