The Handbook of Commodity Investing (Frank J. Fabozzi Series) [Hardcover]

PhD, CFA, CPA Frank J. Fabozzi (Author), Roland Fuss (Author), Dieter G. Kaiser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0470117648 | ISBN-13: 978-0470117644 | Edition: 1

Filled with a comprehensive collection of information from experts in the commodity investment industry, this detailed guide shows readers how to successfully incorporate commodities into their portfolios. Created with both the professional and individual investor in mind, The Handbook of Commodity Investments covers a wide range of issues, including the risk and return of commodities, diversification benefits, risk management, macroeconomic determinants of commodity investments, and commodity trading advisors. Starting with the basics of commodity investments and moving to more complex topics, such as performance measurement, asset pricing, and value at risk, The Handbook of Commodity Investments is a reliable resource for anyone who needs to understand this dynamic market.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anyone interested in commodities as an investment and just wants the pure facts (no hype) should find The Handbook of Commodity Investing very beneficial." (About.com: Commodities)

"Fabozzi is by far the best-selling author when it comes to financial mathematics for practitioners." (Publishing News, Friday 14th March 2008)

From the Inside Flap

The shift in the balance of economic growth from the developed world to the developing world shows no sign of reversal. For the first time in history, more people live in cities than in the countryside, and their material needs have led to an acceleration in demand for metals, energy, and food. The supply side has been slow to react fully to this change, and as a result, many commodities have reached "tipping points," flipping from surpluses into shortages—and it appears likely that the current period of elevated commodity prices will be prolonged.

The Handbook of Commodity Investing provides the information necessary for investors to understand and successfully incorporate commodities into their portfolios. Filled with a comprehensive collection of information from experts in the commodity investment industry, this detailed guide explains the mechanics of the commodity market, performance measurement, risk management, asset allocation, and the different commodity products, including special classes of assets.

Editors Frank Fabozzi, Roland Füss, and Dieter Kaiser begin with a primer on the basics of commodity investing, offering insight into market participants, commodity sectors, commodity exchanges, return components of commodity futures, and the risk and performance characteristics of the sectors. They provide information on the all-important topic of risk management for commodity investments, outlining seven key principles for effective risk management of commodity futures portfolios. And they offer specific advice on how commodity products can be implemented within an investor's asset allocation, demonstrating how to efficiently design a commodity futures trading program, use hedge funds, and more.

In addition to providing an overview of the various commodity products currently available to investors, the editors offer more detailed information on some of the most important commodity sectors, including commodity market fundamentals for grain, cattle, and hogs; gold and silver; electricity and emissions trading in the European Union; and other key sectors.

An invaluable guide for individuals, institutional investors, and academics, The Handbook of Commodity Investing will show you how to successfully include commodities in a portfolio and provide you with the insights needed to fully understand the fundamentals of this volatile—and highly profitable—market.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 986 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470117648
• ISBN-13: 978-0470117644
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frank J. Fabozzi is Professor in the Practice of Finance and Becton Fellow at the Yale School of Management and Editor of the Journal of Portfolio Management. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and earned a doctorate in economics from the City University of New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very useful compendium of academic research on commodities, January 3, 2012

By 

Neurasthenic "neurasthenic" (New York City, New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Handbook of Commodity Investing (Frank J. Fabozzi Series) (Hardcover)

If you need to get up to speed on the academic research into commodities, this book is a useful place to start. It's dated 2008, but few of the studies reflect data or analysis after 2006. Don't expect any insight into the markets in or after the 2008 crash.

As is normal for a collection of this type, each chapter reflects a different team of authors, and certain topics are covered repeatedly. A reader who tries to work through this entire collection will find the term "roll return" or "roll yield" defined over and over again. Different readers will have different interests, and I can't predict which chapters will be of interest to others, but I found chapter 18 "Sources of Alpha in Commodity Investing" by Markus Mezger to be particularly interesting. I found only one or two chapters to be totally worthless (a trivial discussion of risk management in chapter 12 for example, and a chapter on the securitization of commodity price risk).

About 2/3 of the book involves indices and CTAs. The last section reviews individual commodities -- gold, then sugar, then copper, etc.

The book contains one misogynistic joke that should have been edited out, in chapter 16, p.392.

6 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring math book., July 25, 2010

By 

jay - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Handbook of Commodity Investing (Frank J. Fabozzi Series) (Hardcover)

This is a compilation of other people's studies mushed together in 1000 pages of boring math and footnotes galore.

1 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you very much. The title arrived 13th of November!, December 1, 2008

By 

Bücherwurm "Wirtschaftsbibliothek" (Luzern Schweiz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Handbook of Commodity Investing (Frank J. Fabozzi Series) (Hardcover)

The Handbook of Commodity Investing (Frank J. Fabozzi Series) (Purchased on 10/29/2008)
by PhD, CFA, CPA Frank J. Fabozzi