Fund Evaluator:
Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement (ECSQX)
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Best Performing in Commodities Broad Basket Over the Last Year
| 41.8% | Invesco Balanced-Risk Commodity Strat Y (BRCYX) |
| 39.4% | PGIM Quant Solutions Commodity Strats Z (PQCZX) |
| 37.3% | ALPS/CorCmdty Mgmt CmpltCmdty Strat I (JCRIX) |
| 37.1% | ALPS/CorCmdty Mgmt CmpltCmdty Strat Inv (JCRAX) |
| 35.2% | Cantor Fitzgerald Commodity RetStratPort (CCRSX) |
Fund Details
Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement Overview
Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement (ECSQX) is an actively managed Commodities Commodities Broad Basket fund. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc launched the fund in 2024.
The investment seeks total return. The fund seeks to provide exposure to commodities markets by investing in commodity-linked instruments across various commodity sectors either directly or through its investments in its Subsidiaries. Commodities are tangible assets such as agricultural products, oil or metals. The fund manager pursues its investment objective by allocating the fund’s assets among multiple investment managers, which are unaffiliated with Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc. The fund is non-diversified.
About Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement (ECSQX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.52 years: Spenser Lerner (2024), Justin Menne (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg Commodity TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement has 94 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 55.4% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement is part of the Real Assets global asset class and is within the Commodities fund group. Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement has 0.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 28.7% (28.3% domestic bond, 0.4% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement has 55.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $127 million in total assets, which is below the $481 million average for the Commodities Broad Basket category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
ECSQX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Commodities Broad Basket category. Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement has an expense ratio of 0.71%, which is 36% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement has a portfolio turnover rate of 50%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 73% for the Commodities Broad Basket category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement returned 7.3%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Commodities Broad Basket category had an average return of 6.9%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement has a trailing yield of 12.51%, which is above the 9.29% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 23.0%, 0.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 37.0% over the past year (grade of B).
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ECSQX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| ECSQX Return (NAV) | 7.3% | -4.5% | 37.0% | na | na | na |
| ECSQX Grade | B | B | B | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 0.4% | -0.1% | 2.8% | na | na | na |
| Commodities Broad Basket Avg | 6.9% | -4.4% | 34.2% | 12.1% | 10.7% | 7.8% |
| ECSQX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 5.5% | na | na | na |
ECSQX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ECSQX Return (NAV) | 23.0% | 18.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| ECSQX Grade | B | B | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 0.6% | 2.8% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Commodities Broad Basket Avg | 22.4% | 15.9% | 5.0% | -6.1% | 14.4% | 30.6% | -2.7% | 10.0% | -13.2% | 4.6% | 13.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | na |
| Total Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Grade: | |
| Beta: | na |
| R-Squared: | na |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 12.5% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $3583 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 128 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Retirement |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 50% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 2.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 2.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Lerner Spenser (2024), Menne Justin (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 94 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 55.4% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 28.3% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.4% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 16.1% |
| Cash: | 55.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Harbor Capital Advisors Inc |
| Phone Number: | 800-422-1050 |
| Website: |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | January 23, 2024 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.71% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.10% |
| Share Class: | Embark Commodity Strategy Retirement |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
