Interest in commodities as an investable asset class has been gradually climbing over the last several years, as new means of accessing these securities have turned investors on to the potential return enhancement and diversification benefits. While the potential rewards of investing in commodities are tremendous–as evidenced by the huge price run-ups over the last year–the risks are substantial as well. While commodities are increasingly ubiquitous and are relatively simple to identify or understand–everyone could identify corn or sugar–there are numerous nuances that complicate the process of establishing exposure to natural resources [see also Three Things Wall Street Journal Didn’t Tell You About Commodities]. Much of the confusion is due to the challenges with accomplishing exposure to spot prices–and misunderstandings over the alternatives, including stocks or ETFs of producing companies and futures contracts. Fortunately, there is no shortage of free resources dedicated to making this asset class easier to understand, … See the full story here →