A load of BULL

Here is another great idea for a different type of investment for your retirement account or SIPP.

Using ETFs it is easy to get a finger in the commodities pie.  I think that it is good to have some exposure to commodities in my SIPP because they should show less of a correlation with global stock markets and, to my mind, the trends in commodities seem easier to spot and to be more “stable”.  I would be interested if any readers agree, or know of any research backing this up?

I currently have holdings in BULL (tracking the price of gold) and and OILB (tracking the price of Brent crude oil).  For readers in the US, holdings in these (or similar) ETFs must have been very lucrative over the last 6 months.  For those of us living in the UK (or most other parts of the world) the returns have been offset, to some extent, by the recent weakness in the dollar, but still good.

Buying ETFs is dead easy.  They are traded just like any other share and (in the UK) carry no stamp duty charge.  There are even a range of short commodity funds if you want to get really technical!