While the S&P 500 has stumbled roughly 6% year-to-date and growth-heavy benchmarks have fared even worse, a handful of ETFs are posting strong gains with little fanfare. The common thread is real assets, tangible commodities, and the kind of businesses that benefit when the world gets more uncertain.

The Iran conflict that erupted in late February, culminating in a near-total disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, has reshaped the investment landscape in ways that extend well beyond crude oil. Energy supply chains are fractured, commodity prices are surging across the board and investors are rediscovering the appeal of funds anchored in physical scarcity rather than multiple expansion.

The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF ((LIT Quick QuoteLIT - Free Report) ), Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ((SCHD Quick QuoteSCHD - Free Report) ) and Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy ETF ((PDBC Quick QuotePDBC - Free Report) ) are three unique investments that have considerably outperformed the market this year and have multiple tailwinds that may drive them higher.

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The LIT ETF Shares are Gaining on Oil Alternatives

At first glance, a lithium and battery technology fund seems like an unlikely beneficiary of an oil shock. But when filling an SUV costs $160 and powering an EV for the same distance runs about $75, the household decision to consider an EV becomes a simple budgeting equation.

LIT tracks the Solactive Global Lithium Index, investing across the full lithium value chain, from upstream miners like Albemarle to battery manufacturers like Panasonic, to end-market names like Tesla. Rio Tinto is the fund's largest holding at over 21% of assets, giving it meaningful exposure to diversified mining as well.

What makes the current rally particularly interesting is that it's being driven by multiple converging forces. Lithium demand projections have been revised sharply higher, as Albemarle now forecasts demand could reach 3.6 million metric tonnes by 2030, more than double 2025 levels. Washington's renewed push to secure critical mineral supply chains has added a policy tailwind. And the Iran conflict has accelerated both the consumer economics and a supply constraint on numerous other commodities.

Investors should note the risks, as LIT carries a 0.75% expense ratio, a beta of 1.59, and remains a concentrated, relatively volatile vehicle. Much of the YTD surge has been sentiment-driven, but as a structural play on accelerated battery adoption and commodity constraints, it's hard to ignore.

As of this morning, the LIT ETF is gapping higher and now nearing the upper bound of a two-month consolidation. Investors keen on this ETF might watch for a break of support or resistance to consider positioning.

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Dividend ETF SCHD Offers Defensive Positioning

SCHD doesn't typically get described as an exciting fund. It tracks the Dow Jones US Dividend 100 Index, screening for companies with at least 10 consecutive years of dividend payments and filtering by cash-flow-to-debt ratios, return on equity, and dividend growth rates. The result is a portfolio of 100 blue-chip dividend payers that leans heavily into energy, consumer staples, and healthcare. That composition has been ideal for 2026.

With energy stocks comprising roughly 21% of the portfolio, led by ConocoPhillips at 4.2% and Chevron at 4.6%, SCHD has captured significant upside from the oil price surge. Meanwhile, its 19% allocation to consumer defensive names and 16% in healthcare provide further defensive support. The fund trades at approximately 18.7x earnings, a meaningful discount to the S&P 500's 23-27x range, reinforcing its appeal as a rotation destination during the current flight from growth.

The fund just completed its annual March reconstitution, trimming energy exposure by roughly 8 percentage points and adding names like UnitedHealth Group, Abbott Laboratories, and Procter & Gamble. The methodology is mechanical, selling the winners whose rising prices have compressed their yields and buying beaten-down quality names with higher yields and stronger dividend growth trajectories. The incoming stocks averaged 63% five-year dividend growth rates versus 37% for the names removed.

At a 0.06% expense ratio, a 3.47% yield and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) rating, SCHD stands out as an appealing investment opportunity. Its 9.4% annualized return over the last 20 years and 11% YTD gains indicate further why investors have rotated into the name.

The SCHD ETF is a few percent off its highs but showing considerable relative strength versus the broad market indexes. It appears to have broken out from a descending channel this week, a potentially bullish signal.

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The PDBC ETF Shares are Up More Than 30% YTD

PDBC is the purest expression of the current commodity boom in ETF form. The fund is actively managed, investing in futures contracts across 14 heavily traded commodities spanning energy, precious metals, industrial metals, and agriculture. Its "optimum yield" strategy attempts to mitigate the roll-yield drag that has historically plagued passive commodity funds, which can be a meaningful edge during periods of sustained backwardation.

The Iran conflict has been the primary catalyst, but PDBC's rally was well underway before the first missiles flew. Commodities had already been benefiting from a confluence of supply-side constraints and persistently strong global growth. The Hormuz closure simply poured gasoline on the trend.

With Brent and WTI crude having surged past $100 per barrel from pre-conflict levels in the low-to-mid $60s, the energy component of the portfolio has done the heaviest lifting. But the rally has been broad-based, as gold, industrial metals, and agricultural commodities have all participated.

PDBC's structure deserves a mention too. Unlike many commodity ETFs, it issues a standard 1099 rather than a K-1, eliminating a common tax headache for investors. At a 0.59% expense ratio and $5.5 billion in assets, it offers institutional-grade liquidity. The fund has attracted over $400 million in net inflows over the past three months alone, suggesting that institutional allocators, not just retail traders, are building strategic commodity positions.

The PDBC ETF has pushed to another new record high this morning, demonstrating continued momentum in the commodity bull market.

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How Should Investors Position Their Portfolios

What connects these three funds is a reorientation of market leadership away from the intangible and toward the tangible. The assets that have struggled most in 2026, high-multiple growth stocks, AI infrastructure plays, long-duration tech, are exactly the kind of businesses that suffer when energy costs spike, discount rates rise, and investors begin pricing in a world of persistent supply disruption rather than limitless digital abundance.

Whether the current environment proves transient or structural depends on the trajectory of the Iran conflict and the broader geopolitical recalibration it has triggered. But for now, the market is telling a clear story: real assets are back in vogue, and these three ETFs are riding the wave.