Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF (COPX vs CPER) 2026: Returns, Risk & Volatility

Q: Which is a better investment: COPX or CPER?

Over the past year, COPX looks like the better investment: it had higher total return (COPX +116.5% vs CPER +21.7%) and a higher Sharpe ratio (COPX 2.10 vs CPER 0.63). On risk, CPER was less volatile (CPER 34.6% vs COPX 39.0%), CPER had a smaller max drawdown (CPER -24.8% vs COPX -27.8%), and CPER had less severe losses on the worst 5% of days (Expected Shortfall of CPER -5.43% vs COPX -5.81%).

Written by Gale Finance Team

Reviewed by Sid Kalla CFA Charterholder

Quick answer

Which is a better investment: COPX or CPER?

Over the past year, COPX outperformed CPER. COPX returned +116.5% compared with CPER’s +21.7%. COPX had the better risk-adjusted return, with a Sharpe ratio of 2.10 versus CPER’s 0.63. CPER was less volatile than COPX, and CPER had a smaller max drawdown than COPX.

Total Return

COPX +116.5%

CPER +21.7%

Sharpe Ratio

COPX 2.10

CPER 0.63

Annualized Volatility

COPX 39.0%

CPER 34.6%

Max Drawdown

COPX -27.8%

CPER -24.8%

Metric winners: Total Return: COPX; Sharpe Ratio: COPX; Annualized Volatility: CPER (less volatile); Max Drawdown: CPER (smaller drawdown).

COPX Total Return

↑ +116.5%

CPER Total Return

↑ +21.7%

Relative Performance of COPX vs CPER (Normalized to 100)

COPX CPER

Normalized to 100 at start date for comparison

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Key Takeaways

Total Return: COPX delivered a +116.5% total return, while CPER returned +21.7% over the same period. COPX outperformed on total returns.
Risk-Adjusted Return (Sharpe Ratio): COPX had a higher Sharpe (2.10 vs 0.63), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.
Volatility (Annualized): COPX was more volatile, with 39.0% annualized volatility, versus 34.6% for CPER.
Maximum Drawdown: CPER's maximum drawdown was -24.8%, while COPX experienced a deeper drawdown of -27.8%.
Tail Risk (VaR & Expected Shortfall): At the 5% level (daily log returns), COPX's VaR was -3.90% and its Expected Shortfall (CVaR) was -5.81%; CPER's were -2.94% and -5.43%. VaR is the cutoff; Expected Shortfall is the average move on the worst days.
Skew & Kurtosis: Skew: COPX -0.56 vs CPER -3.43. Excess kurtosis: COPX 1.96 vs CPER 32.92. Negative skew leans downside; higher excess kurtosis means fatter tails.
Tail Days & Extremes: 2σ tail days (down/up): COPX 10/6, CPER 6/4. Worst day: COPX -10.00% (2026-01-30) vs CPER -19.31% (2025-07-30). Best day: COPX +7.92% (2026-03-31) vs CPER +8.41% (2025-07-08).
Risk ratios: Sortino - COPX: 3.10 vs. CPER: 0.81 , Calmar - COPX: 4.22 vs. CPER: 0.88 , Sterling - COPX: 6.54 vs. CPER: 0.86 , Treynor - COPX: 0.49 vs. CPER: 0.25 , Ulcer Index - COPX: 7.59% vs. CPER: 11.95%

Investment Comparison

If you invested $10,000 in each asset on April 25, 2025:

COPX $21,646.14 +116.5%

CPER $12,165.9 +21.7%

Difference: $9,480.24 (COPX ahead)

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF Performance Over Time

Metric	COPX	CPER
30 Days	13%	10.8%
90 Days	-4.1%	1.2%
180 Days	38.6%	17%
1 Year	116.5%	21.7%

Shorter time frames can show different leaders as market conditions change. Consider your investment horizon when comparing performance.

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF Correlation

Average Correlation

strongly correlated

0.72

Current (30-day) 0.84

30-day rolling range +0.35 to +0.89

Global X Copper Miners ETF and Copper ETF are strongly correlated over the past year. With a correlation of 0.72, these assets tend to move together, limiting diversification benefits.

For portfolio construction, this strong correlation means holding both COPX and CPER provides limited risk reduction — they're likely to decline together in downturns.

Metric	Value
Current (30-day)	0.84
Average (full period)	0.72
Minimum (30-day rolling)	0.35
Maximum (30-day rolling)	0.89

Correlation measures how closely two assets move together. Values near +1 indicate strong co-movement, near 0 indicates independence, and negative values indicate inverse movement. Current, minimum, and maximum figures are 30-day rolling correlations on shared daily returns.

Drawdown

Maximum Drawdown

COPX

-27.8%

CPER

-24.8%

Global X Copper Miners ETF experienced its maximum drawdown of -27.8% from 2026-02-27 to 2026-03-20. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Copper ETF experienced its maximum drawdown of -24.8% from 2025-07-24 to 2025-08-05. It took 153 days to recover.

Smaller drawdowns and faster recoveries indicate lower downside risk and greater resilience during market stress.

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF Volatility (COPX vs CPER)

COPX Volatility

39.0%

±2.45% 1-day vol

CPER Volatility

34.6%

±2.18% 1-day vol

1-day volatility (1σ)

COPX

±2.45%

CPER

±2.18%

Global X Copper Miners ETF's 39.0% annualized volatility translates to about ±2.45% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

Copper ETF's 34.6% annualized volatility translates to about ±2.18% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

COPX had the wider volatility profile over this window. That means its day-to-day return distribution was broader; CPER was calmer, but lower volatility does not by itself mean better returns.

Treat the ± daily figure as a one-standard-deviation estimate from historical returns, not a forecast or expected absolute daily move. For context, 15-18% annualized volatility is roughly ±1% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

Risk-adjusted ratios

Sharpe Ratio of COPX and CPER

Sharpe Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Return per total volatility

Sharpe gives us excess return per unit of risk. Upside and downside volatility both count as risk.

Higher is better

excess return / total volatility

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Sharpe} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\sigma_R}

Sharpe ratio measures return per unit of risk (volatility). A higher Sharpe indicates better risk-adjusted performance. COPX had a higher Sharpe (2.10 vs 0.63), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.

A Sharpe above 1.0 is generally considered good, above 2.0 is excellent. Negative Sharpe means the asset underperformed the risk-free rate. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Sortino Ratio of COPX and CPER

Sortino Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Return per downside volatility

Sortino keeps the return-over-risk idea, but only returns below the target rate count as volatility.

Higher is better

excess return / downside volatility

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Sortino} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\sigma_{\mathrm{down}}}

Sortino ratio measures return per unit of downside risk. Unlike Sharpe, it only counts downside deviation (returns below the target return). COPX had better downside-adjusted returns.

A higher Sortino is better. It's useful when upside volatility is common (crypto is the obvious example). Downside deviation: COPX 26.4% vs CPER 26.9%. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices, using the daily risk-free rate as the target return, and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Calmar Ratio of COPX and CPER

Calmar Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

CAGR per worst drawdown

Calmar compares CAGR against the single deepest peak-to-trough loss over the period.

Higher is better

CAGR / max drawdown

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Calmar} = \frac{\mathrm{CAGR}}{|\mathrm{MaxDD}|}

Calmar ratio compares CAGR to maximum drawdown. Higher Calmar means more return per unit of worst drawdown. COPX posted the higher Calmar ratio.

Calmar is computed on each asset's full 365-day lookback and uses the max drawdown over that same window.

Sterling Ratio of COPX and CPER

Sterling Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Return per average drawdown

Sterling smooths the drawdown penalty by using average drawdown events instead of only the worst one.

Higher is better

excess annual return / average deep drawdown

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Sterling} = \frac{\mathrm{CAGR} - R_f}{\overline{D}_{>10\%}}

Sterling ratio measures excess return per unit of average drawdown (typically drawdowns worse than 10%). COPX posted the higher Sterling ratio.

Sterling uses average drawdown events deeper than 10% and subtracts the risk-free rate to report excess return.

Treynor Ratio of COPX and CPER

Treynor Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Excess return per market beta

Treynor divides excess annualized return by beta — the sensitivity of the asset to broad-market moves. The slope shown is each asset’s beta vs SPY.

Higher is better

excess return / market beta

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Treynor} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\beta}

Treynor ratio measures excess return per unit of market risk (beta) instead of total volatility. COPX posted the higher Treynor ratio.

Treynor uses beta vs the S&P 500 (SPY) on shared dates and the average 3-month Treasury rate as the risk-free rate.

Ulcer Index of COPX and CPER

Ulcer Index: COPX vs. CPER

Drawdown pain

Ulcer Index is a risk index, not a return-over-risk ratio. Lower means smaller and shorter drawdowns.

Lower is better

root-mean-square drawdown

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{UI} = \sqrt{\mathbb{E}[D_t^2]}

Ulcer Index captures drawdown depth and duration. Lower Ulcer Index means less drawdown pain. COPX had the lower Ulcer Index (less drawdown pain).

Ulcer Index is computed from each asset's drawdown series over the full lookback window.

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (1-Year): Global X Copper Miners ETF vs. Copper ETF

This section looks at the shape of daily returns, not just the average. Tail stats are computed per asset on its own daily series (crypto includes weekends). We use daily log returns $\ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)$ so multi-day moves add cleanly.

Definitions: Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall, skew, kurtosis, and fat tails.

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape: COPX vs. CPER (1-Year)

Actual daily return tails

The bars are real daily log-return observations from the article window. Darker bars are observations at or beyond each asset’s 5% VaR cutoff.

Observed returns

VaR marks the 5th percentile loss cutoff; Expected Shortfall averages the observations beyond that cutoff.

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{VaR}_{5\%}=Q_{0.05}(r_t),\quad \mathrm{ES}_{5\%}=\mathbb{E}[r_t\mid r_t\le \mathrm{VaR}_{5\%}]

Metric (1-Year)	COPX	CPER
5% VaR (daily log return)	-3.90%	-2.94%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-5.81% (worst 13 days)	-5.43% (worst 13 days)
Skew	-0.56	-3.43
Excess kurtosis	1.96	32.92
2σ tail days (down / up)	10 / 6	6 / 4
Worst day	-10.00% (2026-01-30)	-19.31% (2025-07-30)
Best day	+7.92% (2026-03-31)	+8.41% (2025-07-08)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Computed on shared dates only (n=249). A “2σ downside move” means a shared-close log return more than 2 standard deviations below that asset’s own mean on this shared-date series. Dates below show simple returns (%) for readability.

Downside co-move map: COPX vs. CPER (2σ)

Shared-close daily returns

Dots mark actual downside days: asset-colored dots are one-sided downside moves, and red dots are joint downside days. Grey dots add sampled shared-return context when available. The shaded lower-left zone shows where both COPX and CPER crossed their own 2σ downside threshold.

2σ

Show downside tail dates

Dates below are shared-date observations. The “Date” is the period end (close). Tail thresholds are computed on log returns, but the table shows simple returns (%) for readability. Returns are computed from the previous shared close to this one (for example, Friday → Monday includes weekend moves).

Days when both COPX and CPER had a big down day (2σ)

Date (interval)	COPX	CPER
2025-10-10	-5.50%	-4.42%
2026-01-30	-10.00%	-5.89%

Days when COPX had a big down day

Date (interval)	COPX	CPER
2025-10-10	-5.50%	-4.42%
2025-10-21	-4.83%	-2.21%
2026-01-30	-10.00%	-5.89%
2026-02-04	-4.57%	-3.18%
2026-02-05	-6.12%	-2.89%
2026-03-03	-7.03%	-2.17%
2026-03-05	-6.65%	-1.08%
2026-03-20	-4.56%	-4.06%
2026-03-26	-6.28%	-1.36%
2026-04-21	-5.54%	-1.22%

Days when CPER had a big down day

Date (interval)	COPX	CPER
2025-04-30	-3.00%	-5.43%
2025-07-30	-2.90%	-19.31%
2025-10-10	-5.50%	-4.42%
2025-12-26 → 2025-12-29	-3.61%	-4.55%
2026-01-30	-10.00%	-5.89%
2026-03-18	-3.82%	-4.43%

Read this as “how ugly the ugly days get”, not as a precise forecast. One-year samples are small, so tail estimates are inherently noisy.

Full Comparison of Global X Copper Miners ETF vs. Copper ETF (1-Year)

Metric	COPX	CPER
Total Return	+116.5%	+21.7%
Annualized Volatility	39.0%	34.6%
Sharpe Ratio	2.10	0.63
Sortino Ratio	3.10	0.81
Calmar Ratio	4.22	0.88
Sterling Ratio	6.54	0.86
Treynor Ratio	0.49	0.25
Ulcer Index	7.59%	11.95%
Max Drawdown	-27.8%	-24.8%
Avg Correlation to S&P 500	0.52	0.36
5% VaR (daily log return)	-3.90%	-2.94%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-5.81%	-5.43%
Skew	-0.56	-3.43
Excess kurtosis	1.96	32.92
2σ tail days (down / up)	10 / 6	6 / 4

Audit this calculation

Formulas, inputs, and conventions used to compute the metrics on this page.

Inputs & conventions

Shared window for pair metrics: 2025-04-25 → 2026-04-23 (last shared close).
Rolling correlation sample (shared closes): 220 rolling 30-day values (from 249 shared daily returns).
Annualization (days/year): COPX: 252 days/year; CPER: 252 days/year.
Risk-free rate: Uses the 3-month U.S. Treasury yield (FRED: DGS3MO), averaged over each asset’s window:

COPX: 4.17% over 2025-04-25 → 2026-04-23.

CPER: 4.17% over 2025-04-25 → 2026-04-23.
Volatility drag (rule of thumb): Estimated from annualized volatility (simple returns). For the log-return framing, see Log returns.

COPX: ≈ -7.6%/yr

CPER: ≈ -6.0%/yr
Data alignment: No forward fill. Correlation and tail co-moves are computed on shared closes only.
For cross-calendar pairs (e.g., crypto vs stocks), weekend/holiday moves roll into the next shared close.
Return conventions: Volatility/Sharpe/Sortino use simple daily returns. Tail-risk uses daily log returns for distribution stats (but tables show simple returns). Log returns.

Formulas

Daily simple return

r_t = \frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}} - 1

Volatility

\sigma_{ann} = \sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}

Volatility drag (approx.)

\text{drag} \approx \tfrac{1}{2}\sigma_{ann}^2

Sharpe Ratio

S = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}}

Sortino Ratio

So = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sqrt{\mathbb{E}[\min(0,\,r_t - r_f/A)^2]}\,\sqrt{A}}

Maximum Drawdown

MDD = \min_t\left(\frac{P_t}{\max_{s \le t} P_s} - 1\right)

Average Correlation

\rho = \frac{\operatorname{cov}(r^A,\,r^B)}{\sigma_A\,\sigma_B}

Log returns

\ell_t = \ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)

Notation

$P_t$: Price on day t.
$r_t$: Simple daily return.
$\ell_t$: Log daily return.
$\bar{r}$: Average daily return.
$\sigma(r_t)$: Standard deviation of daily returns.
$A$: Annualization factor (days/year).
$r_f$: Annual risk-free rate.

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: COPX or CPER?

COPX showed higher volatility at 39.0% annualized, compared to 34.6% for CPER Over the past year. Higher volatility means larger price swings in both directions.

Does COPX provide diversification when held with CPER?

COPX and CPER are strongly correlated over the past year, with an average correlation of 0.72. This strong correlation limits diversification benefits.

How bad are the worst 5% days for COPX vs CPER?

Over the past year, COPX's 5% VaR was -3.90% and its 5% Expected Shortfall was -5.81% (worst 13 days). CPER's were -2.94% and -5.43% (worst 13 days).

Do COPX and CPER crash together on bad days?

On shared dates (n=249), when CPER has a 2σ down day, COPX also does 33.3% (2/6 days). In the other direction, when COPX has one, CPER also does 20.0% (2/10 days).

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: COPX or CPER?

COPX showed better risk-adjusted performance with a Sharpe ratio of 2.10 versus CPER's 0.63 Over the past year.

Can COPX and CPER be combined in a portfolio?

Yes, though allocation sizing matters. Their strong correlation provides limited risk reduction since they tend to move together. COPX's higher volatility (39.0%) means even small allocations can materially impact overall portfolio risk.

Explore our financial glossary

Which is a better investment: COPX or CPER?

Share This Comparison of COPX vs CPER

Relative Performance of COPX vs CPER (Normalized to 100)

Trade COPX or CPER

Key Takeaways

Investment Comparison

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF Performance Over Time

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF Correlation

Drawdown

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF Volatility (COPX vs CPER)

Risk-adjusted ratios

Sharpe Ratio of COPX and CPER

Sharpe Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Sortino Ratio of COPX and CPER

Sortino Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Calmar Ratio of COPX and CPER

Calmar Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Sterling Ratio of COPX and CPER

Sterling Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Treynor Ratio of COPX and CPER

Treynor Ratio: COPX vs. CPER

Ulcer Index of COPX and CPER

Ulcer Index: COPX vs. CPER

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (1-Year): Global X Copper Miners ETF vs. Copper ETF

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape: COPX vs. CPER (1-Year)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Downside co-move map: COPX vs. CPER (2σ)

Days when both COPX and CPER had a big down day (2σ)

Days when COPX had a big down day

Days when CPER had a big down day

Full Comparison of Global X Copper Miners ETF vs. Copper ETF (1-Year)

Inputs & conventions

Formulas

Global X Copper Miners ETF vs Copper ETF: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: COPX or CPER?

Does COPX provide diversification when held with CPER?

How bad are the worst 5% days for COPX vs CPER?

Do COPX and CPER crash together on bad days?

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: COPX or CPER?

Can COPX and CPER be combined in a portfolio?