Above is the total return for some of the more notable commodity ETFs/ETNs during the first half of the year.  In order of performance, they are gold (GLD), copper (JJC), CORN, a broad commodity index (DBC), and OIL.

You can see that, with the exception of CORN, the highs were in by the middle of the first quarter, with a slow grind down thereafter.  There was a notable jump on Friday, but so far the pickings have been slim when it comes to this stuff.

The real loser has been OIL.  CORN was also in the doldrums, but with the return of “weather markets,” that changed in a hurry.  Such is the nature of trading in commodities.

There has been a persistent bid in the commodities for a number of years, but for a serious downdraft during the financial crisis.  Will that go away if the performance doesn’t pick up for a while?  (Chart:  Bloomberg terminal.)

This is the second in a series of postings that looks at the performance of popular ETFs during the first half.  It started with SPY, VEU, AGG, and DBC.  More to come.

four worth reading

When I attended the CFA annual conference (from which I got sixteen postings!), I had the chance to meet with a number of interesting people, several of whom write regularly online.  I noticed that four of them — Jason Zweig, Tadas Viskanta, Rick Ferri, and Bob Seawright — had published pieces in the last few days that fit together, dealing with advice and advisors.  So I matched them up in a twice-a-quarter advisory newsletter that I write.  Check it out.