Why commodities are not as risky as you think

Legendary investor Jim Rogers separates fact from fiction to show why reluctant investors should reconsider commodities.

Recently, at a party in New York, I mentioned that I had been talking to various groups in the United States and Europe about investment opportunities in commodities. Before I could get out one more word, a woman interrupted me. "Commodities!" she exclaimed, with the kind of incredulity in her voice that Manhattanites reserve for people moving to Los Angeles. "But my brother invested in pork bellies and lost his shirt. And he's an economist!"

Everyone seems to have a relative who took a beating in the commodities market, and this fact (or fiction) is considered sufficient reason that no sane person would ever risk playing around with such dangerous things. That this particular victim was also a professional economist makes the warning seem even more ominous. I, however, couldn't help laughing.

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