Systems and methods are provided for an exchange traded fund (ETF) that
tracks the price of one or more commodities, including oil. The exchange
traded fund may include a commodity pool with units representing
ownership interests in the commodity pool. The commodity pool may sell
these units to authorized participants, who can subsequently sell these
units to or repurchase these units from investors via a stock market
exchange. Likewise, the commodity pool can redeem these units from the
authorized participants. The commodity pool invests in short-term oil
futures contracts, which may be subject to margin requirements. The
commodity pool can satisfy this margin requirement by depositing U.S.
Treasuries or other cash and near-cash equivalents. In addition, the
commodity pool may be substantially non-leveraged such that the assets of
the commodity pool do not exceed the assets of the commodity pool. A
portion of the non-margined assets may be invested in U.S. Treasuries and
other interest-bearing securities.