How to access commodities through ETFs (and what you are really buying)

Advice from WisdomTree's Abner

Over the past few years, the growth in usage of commodity exchange-traded products (ETPs) has been tremendous, even as the price levels of many of the assets they track have been dismal, writes David Abner, head of Europe at WisdomTree.

Various structures now provide broad or narrow exposures to single commodities or baskets. Some products are even attempting to actively manage baskets of various commodities based on different strategic trading models and various factors. In many cases, commodity products are far from having the transparent and easy-to-understand structure of a common ETF. However, they can be very valuable in an investment portfolio when properly understood.  When it comes to investing in commodities there are three main types: agriculture, energy and metals. Equities, futures or physical exposur...