Play Commodities With New Peru ETF

The iShares All Peru Capped Index Fund(EPU Quote), the first of its kind, hit the market this week. Like most of Latin America, Peru is a commodity-based economy that exports copper, gold, zinc and agricultural products. Peru's gross domestic product grew more than 9% last year, but the country's central bank recently cuts its 2009 estimate to 3.3%, with a rebound to as much as 5.5% in 2010.

The iShares All Peru Capped Index Fund is dominated by materials companies, comprising 65% of holdings, followed by financials, at 15%. The remaining sectors are much smaller.

The fund has only 25 stocks, with the top three accounting for 44% of assets. Mining company Compania de Minas Buenaventura(BVN Quote) is the largest holding, at 19% of assets, followed by Southern Copper(PCU Quote), also a miner, at 15%, and Creditcorp(BAP Quote), a bank, at 11%. ...