The PDF version of the November issue of ETFInvestor is now available for download.

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If you’ve been to the grocery store or stopped at the gas station lately, you’ve probably noticed that your dollar isn’t getting you as much milk or gasoline as it was just a few months ago. Inflation has spiked. And it’s not just grocery shoppers and drivers that have taken notice. Investors have, too.

Through October, investors added $34 billion in new money to Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities exchange-traded funds. This is twice these funds’ prior annual record haul. Commodities funds have also seen renewed investor interest. Funds in the commodities broad basket Morningstar Category gathered $14.8 billion in net new assets through the first 10 months of the year. This is the largest amount of inflows the category has seen since 2010, when commodity prices surged from their post-crisis lows and inflation fears were running high.

Commodities can be a good hedge when inflation spikes.1 That said, trying to time episodes of inflation is a fool’s errand. So, is it worth carving out a permanent spot for a commodity allocation in a diversified portfolio?

I dig in in this month’s cover.

Here’s a rundown of what else you’ll find in this month’s issue:     

• The adjusted Basic portfolio adds an increment of broad-basket commodities futures exposure
• A spotlight on Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF VTIP
• A look at the drawbacks of recently launched Bitcoin futures ETFs
• Bryan Armour shows how negative roll yields can take a big bite out of the returns to commodity futures funds
• Ryan Jackson shows that funds that invest in commodity producer stocks are a poor proxy for more direct investment

Best,

Ben

P.S. Don’t forget that you can now download the Equity Watchlist and Bond Watchlist data from the ETFInvestor Web site. Starting from the home page, simply click on the Equity or Bond Watchlist tab, scroll down to the bottom, and click on the “Download Data” button in the bottom right-hand corner. We hope you enjoy playing with the data as much as we do!