Direct investment in crude oil products used to be limited to major financial institutions and oil companies themselves, but the development of the ETF industry in the U.S. has democratized the investment process in many ways, including making investments in various oil products accessible to average investors. There are a number of exchange-traded products that offer exposure to prices of various types of oil utilizing an array of investment strategies. And while gaining access to the prices of “black gold” is currently a relatively simple process, an increasingly cloudy regulatory environment threatens to make commodity investing via ETFs a thing of the past. Whether you’re looking to bet on short-term movements in oil prices or hedge against skyrocketing prices, ETFs offer an efficient, cheap, and easy way to gain exposure to commodity prices. But there’s a lot of information to digest for any investor looking to do so. Here’s a guide to some of the major issues to consider. [click to continue…]
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