Do you know the risks of investing in commodities? Commodities can post impressive returns. They can also hand an investor huge losses. Knowing the risks of commodity investing can help you create a strategy to offset these risks.

Commodity Investing Risks

Other risks to consider depend on how you invest in commodities. If you choose to invest through individual companies then you incur the additional risks of stock investing. A commodity could be doing well but problems with a company's management could end up handing you a loss.

You may take on more risk depending on which etf you choose. An example - iShares GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust ETF tracks an index of commodities. But it is heavily weighted in energy (nearly 70%). Therefore, your portfolio may take a bigger loss if the energy commodities were hit by unforeseen problems.

It is more diversified than investing in just one commodity such as the iShares Silver Trust Fund which only holds silver bullion.