COPJ: Sprott Junior Copper Miners ETF
ETF Education Report: Sprott Junior Copper Miners ETF (COPJ)
What this ETF is trying to do
The Sprott Junior Copper Miners ETF (ticker: COPJ) is an exchange-traded fund that focuses on companies involved in junior copper mining. Instead of buying just one company, this ETF holds a collection of different companies. According to the provided data, its top holdings include ERO Copper Corp (4.94%), Trekor Metals Ltd (4.93%), and Minsur SA Class I (4.84%). Because this is a partial list, it does not show every company in the fund.
What the numbers show
It is important to understand that "price return" and "total return" are different things. Price return only tracks how much the share price changes. Total return includes both the price change and any cash distributions paid out to investors.
Here is what the data shows for COPJ:
• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 15.42%. The total return is also approximately 15.42%.
• One-Year: The price return was approximately 55.21%, while the total return was much higher at approximately 74.95%.
• Three-Year: The price return was approximately 149.42%, and the total return was approximately 220.41%.
To give you an idea of the price movement, the current price is $45.35. The estimated price from roughly one year ago was approximately $29.22.
Income and distribution explanation
Some investors look for ETFs that pay out cash, known as distributions. COPJ has a distribution yield of approximately 10.03%. This means the cash paid out is about 10% of the ETF's price. The trailing distributions were approximately $4.55.
It is important to remember that a high distribution yield does not mean an investor earned that same percentage as their total return. Also, the frequency of these payments is listed as "irregular" or "less frequent," with only one payout recorded in the last 12 months.
NAV erosion explanation
"NAV erosion" is a term used to describe when the value of the underlying assets in a fund decreases significantly. Investors often watch for this because they want their original investment (the principal) to stay stable.
For COPJ, the erosion-risk score is 100, and the label states "No price erosion detected." The erosion severity is rated as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag.
Pros
• The ETF has shown significant positive price returns over the one-year and three-year periods.
• The total return is higher than the price return, meaning distributions have added value to the overall performance.
• The erosion-risk measurements suggest no current detection of price erosion.
Cons
• The distribution frequency is irregular, meaning you cannot rely on a steady schedule of cash payments.
• High yields can sometimes be misleading; they do not guarantee that the share price will stay high.
Beginner takeaway
When looking at COPJ, it is helpful to distinguish between the rising share price and the cash distributions. While the fund has seen strong growth in both price and total return, investors should always look at the total return to see the full picture of how much value was created.
Top Holdings
Structured portfolio holdings supplied by the ETF data provider. These figures are not generated by the AI article.
| # | Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ERO COPPER CORP | n/a | 4.94% |
| 2 | TREKOR METALS LTD | n/a | 4.93% |
| 3 | MINSUR SA CLASS I | n/a | 4.84% |
| 4 | ATALAYA MINING COPPER SA | n/a | 4.76% |
| 5 | IVANHOE ELECTRIC INC | IE | 4.48% |
| 6 | FARADAY COPPER CORP | CPPKF | 4.18% |
| 7 | OSISKO METALS INC | OMZNF | 3.94% |
| 8 | AMERIGO RESOURCES LTD | ARREF | 3.90% |
| 9 | FIREFLY METALS LTD | n/a | 3.83% |
| 10 | SOLARIS RESOURCES INC ORDINARY SHARES | n/a | 3.37% |