Commodities are looking up for investors

Article Excerpt

Commodities can help diversify portfolios, but are cyclical and come with higher levels of price volatility. However, well-diversified ETFs that offer exposure to commodity producers can help investors overcome the problems associated with direct investments in physical commodities or funds that track a single commodity. Meanwhile, while a range of commodities, including copper, lumber, and palladium, have moved up strongly over the past year, it’s important to note that there are many different types of commodities, each with their own demand and supply dynamics. So, we think it’s important, to diversify the Resources component of your portfolio across a range of commodities in order to cut your risk. Solid long-term returns, but more volatility Over the period since 2002, an investment in a basket of physical commodities delivered a return of 4.8% per year while the commodity producers delivered 8.2% per year; this compares with the 10.0% per year return of the S&P 500 index (see table below). Meanwhile, commodities or stocks of commodity…