Commodities have become a hated asset class, with cumulative losses totaling over 50% during the last 5 years. Despite recent returns, a strategic allocation to the commodity asset class still makes sense for many investors given its desirable combination of inflation protection and low correlation with the equity and fixed-income asset classes. Although poor performance in commodities may raise the question of why any such allocation should even exist, it ignores the fact that diversification is a useful tool for dealing with an unknown future, and always looks somewhat damaging in retrospect. The article provides four reasons for why current investors should remain invested and why everyone else should consider the current environment as an opportunity to add commodity exposure to their portfolios.

Tax changes in recent years have hit high-income earners, including investment income. These include an additional Medicare surtax, a new top rate for dividends and long-term capital gains, and the phase out of itemized deductions for affluent taxpayers. It’s increasingly important for advisors to help clients identify strategies to help them invest more tax efficiently.