The VanEck Vectors
® Real Asset Allocation ETF (“RAAX”) returned +4.61% versus +6.47% for the Bloomberg Commodity Index. In general, most real assets continue to benefit from the expectation of higher inflation, while oil prices were lifted higher due to supply constraints that resulted from the deadly storm in Texas. On the other hand, income producing real assets were negatively impacted by the rapid surge in interest rates. Gold prices remain under pressure due to optimism about future growth and the subsequent rise in interest rates. And lastly, Bitcoin, which RAAX added exposure to for the first time last month, surged from $32,601 to an intra-month and all-time high of $57,355.