Charlie Don't Surf Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Just wondered if anyone had tried or has any knowledge of any general comodities funds, something that invests into a reasonable range of companies involved in a spread of commodities? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban_hymn Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Just wondered if anyone had tried or has any knowledge of any general comodities funds, something that invests into a reasonable range of companies involved in a spread of commodities? M & G Global Basics - done very well for me since I bought them 8 months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paradox Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 I have been looking at a covered warrant called G800 which tracks an index based on a basket of commodities ranging from coffee and sugar to gold. It does this by buying them and selling them on the futures market on a rolling basis. So that your fund is always buying coffee for delivery in 3 months time and then selling it for delivery in 2 months time. (Otherwise a dumper truck would end up outside your door!) It sounds straightforward in principle and it means that you get exposure to the price of the commodities themselves without the intermediary of a company that might be badly managed etc. However in fact G800 is one of these risky derivatives that everyone says should be avoided. I am tempted to buy some G800 but I am trying to clarify the nature of the risk, as I see it there are 3 possibilities: 1) It is risky because the price of cofee, sugar, silver and gold might go down Conclusion - I would buy it because I think that these things will more than hold their value in the current climate 2) It is risky because these derivatives are not liquid (meaning that they are not bought and sold that often and there may be no buyer when you want to sell) Conclusion - I would buy only if I wanted to hold for the long term 3) It is risky because for reasons we dont understand this whole derivatives market is dodgy and prone to all sorts of problems from software meltdowns to financial shenanigins (sp) Conclusion - don't touch G800 with a bargepole ++Does M & G global basics also invest in G800 as part of its portfolio? ++Has anybody else heard of G800? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Nice Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Just wondered if anyone had tried or has any knowledge of any general comodities funds, something that invests into a reasonable range of companies involved in a spread of commodities? First State Global Reources has been good to me this year. They have exposure to gold, energy, minerals and low fees. Worth considering although there could be a signficant downside if copper etc had a pull back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban_hymn Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 (edited) M & G Global Basics Top 10 Holdings Rio Tinto Ltd Industrial Materials AU 4.1% Peabody Energy Energy US 3.7% Consol Energy Energy US 3.7% P & O Business Services GB 3.4% TOTAL Energy FR 3.3% Tullow Oil Energy GB 2.8% Falconbridge Industrial Materials CA 2.7% BHP Billiton Ltd Industrial Materials AU 2.7% Imerys Industrial Materials FR 2.7% Coles Myer Ltd Consumer Services AU 2.7% The website says holdings are 95% stocks, 4% cash 1% other. Edited December 9, 2005 by urban_hymn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Don't Surf Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 Think I might have a dabble in the M&G Global Basics. Commodities make sense to me and this one looks like an easy way to get some exposure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Shower Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Merrill Lynch also run a commodities fund. Have you considered directly investing in natural resources firms? May make sense because that will give more control over where your money will be invested and you won't have to pay a management charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban_hymn Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Merrill Lynch also run a commodities fund. Have you considered directly investing in natural resources firms? May make sense because that will give more control over where your money will be invested and you won't have to pay a management charge. If you buy through a fund supermarket like Fidelity the annual management charge is only 1.5%. If you've picked the right sector this will barely make an impression on your gains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BandWagon Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 (edited) If you buy through a fund supermarket like Fidelity the annual management charge is only 1.5%. If you've picked the right sector this will barely make an impression on your gains. I have my ISA through Fidelity. I called them about 6 months ago because I was seriously considering dumping a fairly considerable amount of money into a commodities fund. After getting through to the usual call center in India, speaking to someone who could barely speak english, and trying to explain what constituted a commodities fund, I gave up. They suggested Technology, or Telecoms. I disctinctly wanted a commodities fund, I try explaining mining companies, no luck. I asked if there was someone I could talk to, and they offered to send me marketing brochures. Initally I was quite interested in Fidelity, mainly because of the Peter Lynch connection (read one of his books before touching the stock market) Currently I am looking to move my ISA elsewhere. If anyone has some good ideas on commodity funds I'd be interested. Edited December 10, 2005 by BandWagon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban_hymn Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 After getting through to the usual call center in India, speaking to someone who could barely speak english, and trying to explain what constituted a commodities fund, I gave up. You don't need to speak to anyone that's the beauty of online trading. They have a funds search engine on their website into which you can enter search terms such as "commodities". You can then view how the fund is rated by various agencies such as S&P and view historical performance. It's a breeze. The golden rule is - if your investment falls more than you are comfortable with sell it promptly. Shit happens sometimes! Live to invest another day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BandWagon Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 You don't need to speak to anyone that's the beauty of online trading. They have a funds search engine on their website into which you can enter search terms such as "commodities". You can then view how the fund is rated by various agencies such as S&P and view historical performance. It's a breeze. The golden rule is - if your investment falls more than you are comfortable with sell it promptly. Shit happens sometimes! Live to invest another day. Well maybe you know something about Fidelity that I don't. When I enter "commodities" or "mining" into their fund search, I just get the message "Results: 0 funds" Not very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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