Financial reform isn't going to make commodity mutual funds any less risky. That's the main thrust of Chuck Jaffe's MarketWatch column from yesterday. Jaffe argues that "commodity investing isn't getting safer any time soon."

"That doesn't mean investors shouldn't take a chance, but it does mean they can't count on regulators or anyone else to make the selection process easier by giving them extra protection from ordinary market movements," Jaffe writes.

Jaffe notes that commodities are increasingly used as a portion of asset allocation funds like target date funds, and he explains the difference between commodity funds and commodity funds that invest in futures. (The latter will face new disclosure requirements, i.e. having to register with both the SEC, as they have in the past, and with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.)

Mutual fund industry consultant Geoff Bobroff weighs in for the article. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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