ETF Evaluator:
United States Natural Gas (UNG)
Follow This ETF
(as of Jul 31)
Best Performing in Commodities Focused Over the Last Year
| 1324.4% | Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET) |
| 70.1% | United States Gasoline (UGA) |
| 62.9% | abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF (SIVR) |
| 62.6% | iShares Silver Trust (SLV) |
| 54.9% | USCF Sustainable Battery Metals Stgy Fd (ZSB) |
Risk
Index
Risk
Index
ETF Details
United States Natural Gas Overview
United States Natural Gas (UNG) is a passively managed Commodities Commodities Focused exchange-traded fund (ETF). USCF Investments launched the ETF in 2007.
The investment seeks to reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of the spot price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana, as measured by the daily changes in the price of a specified short-term futures contract.
The fund invests primarily in futures contracts for natural gas that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures Europe and ICE Futures U.S. (together, “ICE Futures”) or other U.S. and foreign exchanges. The Benchmark Futures Contract is the futures contract on natural gas as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration.
About United States Natural Gas (UNG)
There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 19.21 years: Management Team (2007). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: USCF Natural Gas Fund Futures PR USD index with a weighting of 100%. United States Natural Gas has 9 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 100.0% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
United States Natural Gas is part of the Real Assets global asset class and is within the Commodities ETF group. United States Natural Gas has 0.0% 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 26.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). United States Natural Gas has 31.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $418 million in total assets, which is below the $4 billion average for the Commodities Focused 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.
UNG 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 United States Natural Gas expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Commodities Focused category. United States Natural Gas has an expense ratio of 1.17%, which is 54% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. 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. United States Natural Gas has a portfolio turnover rate of 0%, which indicates that it holds its assets around /years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 15% for the Commodities Focused category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, United States Natural Gas returned -1.2%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Commodities Focused category had an average return of -10.3%. 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 ETFs in that category.
United States Natural Gas has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 6.89% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income 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.
United States Natural Gas Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned -3.4%, 18.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned -23.0% over the past year (grade of F), -26.6% over the past three years (grade of F) and -25.4% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and -21.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
For more ETF grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about United States Natural Gas, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
UNG Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| UNG Return (NAV) | -1.2% | 0.7% | -23.0% | -26.6% | -25.4% | -21.8% |
| UNG Return (Price) | -1.8% | -0.1% | -23.3% | -26.6% | -25.9% | -21.9% |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.570% | 0.829% | 0.258% | -0.011% | 0.458% | 0.032% |
| Commodities Focused Avg | -10.3% | -8.3% | 43.7% | 14.0% | 8.9% | 5.2% |
| UNG Grade (NAV) | A | A | F | F | F | F |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 9.1% | 9.1% | -66.8% | -40.7% | -34.3% | -27.0% |
| UNG Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
UNG Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| UNG Return (NAV) | -3.4% | -27.6% | -17.3% | -64.2% | 14.8% | 34.7% | -45.6% | -30.5% | 4.3% | -37.2% | 7.0% |
| UNG Return (Price) | -4.4% | -27.1% | -17.1% | -64.0% | 12.9% | 35.8% | -45.4% | -31.8% | 6.0% | -37.6% | 7.7% |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.301% | -0.020% | -0.008% | -0.003% | -0.129% | 0.029% | -0.004% | 4.0% | 37.2% | 1.0% | 11.0% |
| Commodities Focused Avg | 15.5% | 35.6% | 6.2% | -1.1% | 9.2% | 27.8% | 1.5% | 14.9% | -9.5% | 3.1% | 10.0% |
| UNG Grade (NAV) | C | F | F | F | B | B | F | F | A | F | D |
| +/- Category | -18.9% | -63.2% | -23.5% | -63.1% | 5.6% | 6.9% | -47.1% | -45.5% | 13.8% | -40.3% | -3.0% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 1.70 |
| R-Squared: | 18% |
| Standard Deviation: | 53.6% |
| Category Risk Index: | 2.12 |
| Category Risk Rating: | High |
| Total Risk Index: | 4.41 |
| Total Risk Rating: | High |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Total Assets: | $ 419 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 419 Mil |
| Turnover: | na |
| Expense Ratio: | 1.17% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | USCF Natural Gas Fund Futures PR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 1 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 19.2 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 19.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Team Management (2007) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 9 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 100.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 26.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 42.6% |
| Cash: | 31.4% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Partnership (3C1) |
| Fund Family: | USCF Investments |
| Phone Number: | 510-522-9600 |
| Website: | www.unitedstatesnaturalgasfund.com |
| Inception Date: | April 18, 2007 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.17% (Rating: High) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.76% |