Wealth managers: Where we see value in commodities

Jenny Cosgrave talks to a trio of wealth managers about their outlook for the commodities sector and finds out which strategies stand out from the crowd.

It has been a volatile start to the year for the commodities sector. Brent crude hit a six-month high of $119.99 per barrel on 15 February, amid fears Iran had halted exports to Europe.  Deterioration in the demand for commodities in general was blamed for a 5.5% slide in half year profits for BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner. And the hotly anticipated Glencore-Xstrata merger split the industry, with Schroders’ head of UK equities, Richard Buxton, among the Xstrata shareholders to vote against the deal. Last year was also tough thanks to headwinds including the Arab Spring, the...