Commodities outperform equities by 40% in H1

According to London-based ETF Securities, a platform provider for exchange-traded commodities, the slowdown in the US and the sub-prime crisis continued to affect the markets, making the equities and real estate asset classes the worst performers for the second quarter in a row.

"Commodities have shown they outperformed in five of the last ten years with an average annual return of almost four times that of equities. In addition, their lower correlation to other asset classes in times of financial stress also adds to the strong case for an allocation to commodities in a diversified portfolio," ETF Securities Chief Operating Officer Nik Bienkowski said.

ETF Securities pioneered the concept of Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs), the securities which track commodity prices and trade on major stock exchanges.

The ETFS