Soft Commodity ETFs Suffer A Slaughter

As markets prepare for another four years of Barack Obama, it is safe to say that trading has been anything but smooth. With most benchmarks suffering a poor string of sessions last week, many are looking to the near-term or have focused on exactly what happened last week. But with commodity investing, it is always important to take a look at longer-developing trends, as they can often signal how a particular asset will perform in the near future [for more softs news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Agriculture, Cocoa, Coffee, Cotton, Sugar | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Investing In Cocoa: The Definitive Guide

The commodity cocoa, refers to cocoa beans, which are the dried seeds from the, Theobroma Cacao, or cocoa tree. The tree is native to the Americas, specifically the Southern Hemisphere, and has been a major part of the area’s history, though now the vast majority of the trees exist in West Africa. In fact, cocoa beans were used as a common currency in many areas prior to the Spanish conquest. Now, cocoa is used all over the world to create chocolate, and other products such as cocoa butter. Many consume cocoa beans because of the benefits associated with them, as they are thought to have positive effects on cardiovascular health among other things. As an investment, cocoa has become a popular commodity for investors looking to cash in on the sweet gains it can provide [for more cocoa news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter]. 

Posted in Actionable Ideas, Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Cocoa, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Which Cocoa ETF Is Right For You? NIB vs. CHOC

Investors have long been intrigued with cocoa, as this sweet commodity has surely made a name for itself in the financial universe. Although its uses are limited, the market demand for this resource is quite massive. Cocoa is primarily used in the production of chocolate, but can also be used to make cocoa butter, which is used in a number of pharmaceutical drugs. Additionally, cocoa makes an appearance in cosmetics, including various kinds of makeup, lotions, and even soap.

Posted in Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Cocoa, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures | Tagged , | 1 Comment

For Day Traders: The Most Liquid ETF for Every Commodity

The introduction of commodity ETFs brought trading to a whole new level, as your average retail investor now has the opportunity to trade something like natural gas futures through a single ticker. As the years have gone on, a number of these products have grown to be some of the most widely-used financial instruments for their respective commodity. One advantage to ETFs, however, is that liquidity is not hindered by average volume due the the creation process. Instead, there will just be some funds that are more liquid and tradable than others [for more commodity ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Academic Research, Actionable Ideas, Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Aluminum, Asset Allocation, Brent Oil, Cocoa, Coffee, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Copper, Corn, Cotton, Energy, Gasoline, Gold, Heating Oil, Industrial Metals, Lead, Livestock, Natural Gas, Nickel, Nuclear, Palladium, Platinum, Precious Metals, Silver, Solar, Soybeans, Sugar, Tin, Wheat, Wind | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

5 Best-Performing Commodities Of 2012

Through the end of September, 2012 has by and large been another solid year for commodities. Measuring commodity performance can be a little tricky though, as many commodity ETFs and ETNs hold various contracts throughout the year and roll those contracts according to their investment mandate. What that means is that ETF/ETN performance can vary from the underlying commodities [for more commodity ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

Posted in Actionable Ideas, Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Cocoa, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Corn, Energy, Gasoline, Precious Metals, Silver, Soybeans, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Five Minute Guide to Cocoa ETFs

There may be no words to adequately describe what a chocoholic feels as he or she indulges their taste for anything and everything chocolate. Now, thanks to advancements made in the investment markets, chocoholics and anyone else can make money from the global craze for chocolate through an investment in cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate.

Posted in Agriculture, Asset Allocation, Cocoa, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Three Worst Performing Commodity ETFs Over The Last Three Years

Ever since markets crashed in 2008, investors have been slowly increasing their risk appetites, shifting towards more lucrative and risky asset classes such as commodities. Some investments in this category have flourished, while others haven’t fared so well. Natural gas is perhaps the first cringe-worthy commodity that comes to mind as investors witnessed its unprecedented free fall over the last few years. But with NG and some of the other big losers comes a potential buy in opportunity at rock bottom prices. Whether you’re looking for a bargain or simply want to avoid these bad-performing funds, we outline 3 of the worst performing commodity ETPs over the last three years. Note that this list is a bit modified in that we only chose one fund from each commodity type [see also 12 High-Yielding Commodities For 2012]. 

Posted in Agriculture, Cocoa, Commodity ETF Analysis, Commodity ETFs, Energy, Exclusive, Natural Gas | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

5 Worst Performing Commodity ETPs of 2011

Statistics show that the vast majority of commodity investors come away actually losing money, this was especially true for 2011. This year was a rough one on commodities as global instability created volatile trading, resulting in most of this asset class losing money. But of course with big losers comes a great opportunity to buy in while a fund is still cheap. Though, it may also be that you simply want to stay away from some of these bad-performing funds to protect yourself from more losses. Whatever may be the case, we outline the five worst performing commodity ETPs of 2011. Note that the list is a bit modified in that we only chose one fund from each commodity type and did not include any funds that launched this year [see also Three Things Wall Street Journal Didn’t Tell You About Commodities].

Posted in Agriculture, Cocoa, Corn, Cotton, Energy, Exclusive, Industrial Metals, Natural Gas, Wheat | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Weekly Agriculture Roundup: Hot Cocoa

Like just about every other asset class, agricultural commodities have been on a wild ride over the last several trading sessions, fluctuating along with equity markets as investors have tried to evaluate the latest news out of Europe. The last week has generally been a strong stretch for agricultural and soft commodities, as a rally in stock markets and return to risky assets has created a wave of moderate optimism among investors. The following table shows the performance of several popular commodity exchange-traded products for the week ended November 8. It should be noted that each of the funds included below utilizes futures contracts to achieve its stated objectives; as such, returns may not be reflective of changes in spot prices:

Posted in Cocoa, Coffee, Corn, Cotton, Livestock, Soybeans, Sugar, Wheat | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ultimate Guide To Cocoa Investing

The commodity cocoa, refers to cocoa beans, which are the dried seeds from the, Theobroma Cacao, or cocoa tree. The tree is native to the Americas, specifically the Southern Hemisphere, and has been a major part of the area’s history, though now the vast majority of the trees exist in West Africa. In fact, cocoa beans were used as a common currency in many areas prior to the Spanish conquest. By the time the 17th century rolled around, the beans were in widespread use to make chocolate drinks, becoming one of the most popular beverages of the time. Now, cocoa is used all over the world to create chocolate, and other products such as cocoa butter. Many consume cocoa beans because of the health benefits associated with them, which are thought to have positive effects on cardiovascular health. As an investment, cocoa has become a popular commodity for investors looking … See the full story here

Posted in Agriculture, Cocoa, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Exclusive | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments
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