Commodity investments: opportunities for Indian institutional investors

Abstract

An attempt has been made to establish the fact that by investing in commodities or it alternative channels, institutional investors like banks can not only compensate for the lower risk-free returns in their major chunk of investments in Government securities, but also will be able to diversify some amount of their portfolio risk which is expected to rise by taking exposure in commodity market. The results exhibited in all the tables and figures clearly depict that investment in alternative channels like commodity indices or commodity futures contracts in India will not only allow the institutional investors to leverage their portfolio return, but also will ensure that diversification benefits is achieved. Therefore, even if investment in direct commodities are restricted for Indian banks, but still there is a significant opportunity for them to invest in the available alternative channels like commodity indices or commodity futures contracts.Investment Portfolio, Commodity, Commodity Futures, Institutional Investors