Posts tagged as:

FUD

Investors can’t seem to catch a break from volatile trading on Wall Street as financial woes in Europe and debt ceiling drama at home are putting significant pressure on equity markets across the globe. Politicians in Washington D.C. have been struggling to compromise on a viable plan for modifying the debt-ceiling as well as outlining a plan to reduce the towering deficit and only recently, in the 11th-hour, did they finally reach an agreement. Likewise, investors have been flocking to “safer” corners of the market since the gloomy outlook for the U.S. and much of the euro zone has prompted growing fears of inflation and general uncertainty. Many have turned away from traditional fixed income holdings, instead opting for commodity exposure, in an effort to protect their portfolios against volatility and defend against inflation.

Most investors seeking exposure to commodities as protection against inflation typically focus on gold and oil. But in recent years, agricultural commodities have become increasingly popular choices, as increases in population and the scarcity of land create a compelling case for investment. As the world’s population continues to grow and farm land becomes more valuable, demand for agricultural commodities is expected to continue to rise, inevitably pushing food prices higher.  [click to continue…]

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Creative ETF Ideas To Hedge Against Global Unrest

by Michael Johnston on February 17, 2011

The relatively peaceful revolution that has played out in Egypt over the last several weeks has come across to the developed world as a push for democracy in a country that has floundered under the nearly three decades long rule of a president determined to hold on to power. While frustration with what was effectively a dictatorship came across as the primary issue, a closer look at the seeds of the revolution reminds us that there were other factors that led Egyptian youths to take to the streets in the first place. The escalation of hostility towards Mubarak was due in part to extreme food shortages, which arose out of supply pressures created by natural weather phenomenons as well as man-made corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies. “While commentators focus on the corruption of the dictatorship, or the viral effects of the Tunisian moment or the something akin to an Arab political awakening, the inability of the Egyptian regime to insure a steady flow of food staples should be viewed as a critical factor driving this seemingly spontaneous movement for freedom,” writes Billy Wharton. [click to continue…]

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Inside The Corn ETF (CORN)

by Michael Johnston on June 14, 2010

In recent years, ETF assets have climbed towards $1 trillion and the number of products has surged past 1,000. Much of the growth in both products and assets has been attributable to commodity ETFs, as investors have embraced the exchange-traded structure as an efficient way to add the benefits of natural resource exposure to their [...]

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What Every Investor Should Know About Commodity ETF Investing

by Michael Johnston on March 10, 2010

It’s difficult to put a finger on the exact cause of the recent surge in popularity of commodity investing. More than likely, the boom is attributable to a number of different factors. Correlation between international equity markets (and even between stocks and bonds) has surged in recent years, increasing both the importance and difficulty of [...]

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Ultimate Guide To Agricultural ETFs: Agriculture ETF Investing 101

by Michael Johnston on January 14, 2010

Following the massive injections into capital markets in recent years, inflation has become a major concern of many investors, and the quest to uncover assets that offer portfolio protection against a potential uptick in the CPI has taken on many forms. While inflation-protected bonds are the instrument of choice for some, others have turned their [...]

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Rising Orange Juice Prices Boost ETFs

by Michael Johnston on November 2, 2009

The threat of a swine flu outbreak has the potential to impact numerous areas of the domestic and international equity markets: pharmaceutical companies could get a big boost, or see their efforts to develop vaccines go largely unrewarded. Tourism-intensive sectors and countries could see their revenues plummet, or could go get away unscathed. But concerns [...]

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