Commodity Investing

Featured Guests

Jason Casey

Director, Quantitative Research, Commonfund

Jason Casey leads quantitative research at Commonfund, where he applies deep expertise in portfolio construction and asset allocation across alternatives, equity, and fixed income strategies. With extensive experience managing commodities trading teams and constructing balanced portfolios, Jason's insights illuminate how commodities act as natural diversifiers due to their low correlation with equity markets. He brings a pragmatic view on integrating commodities into institutional portfolios to hedge inflation and market volatility effectively.

Andy Weisman

Former Chief Investment Strategist, Windham Liquid Alternatives

Andy Weisman is a seasoned strategist specializing in commodity and risk premium investing, with a strong background in rigorous research and portfolio management. His deep knowledge of futures markets, term structures like backwardation and contango, and convenience yields offers listeners a comprehensive framework to understand commodity pricing dynamics. Andy is noted for translating complex financial theories into actionable investment philosophies that address current market challenges including energy transition and inflation trends.

Key Insights From This Episode

The Unique Portfolio Role of Commodities

Commodities serve as a lowly correlated diversifier, offering portfolio stability during equity downturns and inflationary periods by providing a distinctive risk-return profile.

Understanding Futures and Term Structures

Futures contracts are the cornerstone of professional commodity investing, with market terms like backwardation and contango critical to interpreting supply-demand expectations and investment risk premiums.

Impact of Global Events and Supply Chains

Disruptions such as pandemics, wars, and supply chain blockages have reignited commodity price volatility, underscoring the asset class's sensitivity to real-world events and resulting in renewed strategic interest.

Active Management for Alpha Generation

Passive commodity index investing often misses rich anomalies coded in futures curves; therefore, active managers who dynamically exploit term structures and sector-specific trends add significant value.

Energy Transition and Commodity Demand

The rise of AI and electrification drives unprecedented demand for metals like copper and lithium, reshaping commodity consumption patterns and creating new growth themes within commodity investing.

Navigating Business Cycles and Market Uncertainty

Commodities historically rally at different phases of the business cycle, but recent global shifts including monetary policy and pandemics create unique scenarios requiring flexible strategies and sophisticated risk management.