Besides being an ingredient in sushi, soybeans are used to make soy milk, vegetable oil and feedstock. You can invest in soybeans in different forms including beans, oil and meal (coarse flour). Most investors opt for soybean futures, but you can also invest in futures options, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and companies that deal with soybean-containing foods and products.
Best Welcome Bonus
Best for $0 Commission Trades
Best for Beginners
Soybeans are a commodity. Because they are used to make staple pantry products and animal feed, they continue to have demand even when the market is struggling, which could make them a good investment. However, soybean prices can fluctuate significantly due to weather conditions, crop yields, global demand and trade policies.
You might be more familiar with soybeans with their Japanese name, “edamame.” These are often offered in sushi restaurants—delicious with a sprinkle of salt and a little soy sauce! Soybeans aren’t just used for food, though. Oil can be extracted from soybeans and used to make vegetable oil, margarine and shortening, which many people have in their cupboards.
Soybeans is also made into a coarse flour, or meal, which can be used to feed poultry and livestock. It’s also used to make protein alternatives and soy milk. On the industrial side, it can be found in paint, resins, plastics and biodiesel fuel.
The majority of the global supply of soybeans comes from the United States, Brazil and Argentina. Soybeans are the third largest field crop in Canada based on the amount of cash income and direct program subsidies that it generates.
There are 4 main ways that you can invest in soybeans:
This can work in your favour, if you buy the futures contract while the prices are low and they increase before the agreed date, then you make a profit. It can also go the other way, though!
To buy soybean futures, you agree to buy a set number of bushels of soybeans at a set price. On the date of expiration, the transaction is made.
Upon expiration of the contract, you’re often required to actually receive the delivery of soybeans, so (unless you’re hungry or own a sushi restaurant or otherwise have a need for a ton of soybeans), you’d need to exit your position prior to this.
Futures options give you some of the benefits of buying soybean futures, without getting any soybeans delivered to your home. Futures options are the right to buy or sell futures in a specific time period at a set price. Options can be traded, and become worthless if they aren’t used.
Exchange-traded funds are a popular investment choice. They’re aimed at tracking the performance of an asset, in this case, soybeans.
ETFs can be traded on an exchange in the same way you could trade equities on the stock exchange.
The main soybean ETF is Teucrium Soybean (NYSEArca: SOYB), which is a fund aimed at giving direct exposure to soybeans without futures contracts. It can be purchased on the NYSE Arca. The Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (NYSEArca: DBA) is an ETF that isn’t solely focused on soybeans but still provides some exposure to the crop.
The following companies deal with soybeans and may be worth investing in if you want to back the products and processes that rely on the crop.
To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Trading costs, account fees and features across 10+ stock trading platforms and apps are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score, the better the platform—it's that simple.
Learn how to buy SpaceX stock in Canada and see stock performance history over time.
We break down which companies hold Ethereum, why they’re doing it and what ETH treasuries mean for markets and investors.
Want to invest in the Euro Stoxx 50 in Canada? Explore investment platforms and popular Euro Stoxx 50 index funds.
We put Questrade and BMO InvestorLine to the test to find the best commission-free trading platform.
Steps to owning and managing FIGR, with 24-hour and historical pricing before you buy.
Steps to owning and managing CRWV, with 24-hour and historical pricing before you buy.
Find out how to buy a Drone Delivery Canada Corp. stock, it’s stock price and stock performance over time.
Steps to owning and managing Oklo stock (OKLO), with 24-hour and historical pricing before you buy.
Steps to owning and managing RIOT, with 24-hour and historical pricing before you buy.
Learn how to choose a free trading platform in Canada to buy and sell stocks.
These are the best renewable energy stocks to buy now in Canada.
Finder’s unique algorithm found the 20 best TSX stocks to buy right now.
Find out how to invest in the S&P 500 in Canada—one of the world’s most popular stock indices—to diversify your portfolio.
