The Swiss
bank also reported its largest quarterly loss since the financial crisis following
a $2.6 billion settlement with US authorities for tax evasion.
Research has found that combining risk-based and factor-based alternative beta strategies in commodities allocation could improve returns and reduce risks.
The darlings of institutional investors last year, commodities and emerging market stocks have fallen from grace this year as economic turmoil continues to wreak havoc on markets.
Higher energy prices are contributing to soaring commodities prices, as they "sow the seeds of their own self destruction," a recent paper by Morgan Stanley Investment Management asserts.
As pension funds are beginning to question their investments in commodities and their impact on fueling food inflation, others in the industry say that viewpoint is limited in scope.
Jeremy Grantham, chief investment strategist of fund manager GMO Capital Management, says that since growth of natural resources is severely limited as population and demand soar, the age of cheap commodities prices is over.
More than half of respondents said they view investing in stocks, bonds, property, private equity and hedge funds as slightly or much riskier than before, with commodities being the slight exception.
The board of the California State Teachers Retirement System has decided to lower its proposed commodities investment from a reported $2.5 billion to $250 million or less.
As demands for energy are expected to climb by as much as 40% in the next 20 years as incomes rise in emerging markets and as the global economy rebounds, the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec plans to invest more heavily in energy and minerals.