Advisors acknowledge commodity gains but portfolios still lag behind performance

Despite strong performance in 2025, commodities remain a marginal allocation in most client portfolios, highlighting a persistent disconnect between results and adoption that financial advisors continue to wrestle with.

A recent survey of 300 US financial advisors, representing approximately $116 billion in assets under management, found that commodities are still widely underused, even as market volatility and inflation concerns intensify. On average, advisors reported commodity allocations of just 4.6%, well below levels many believe are needed to improve portfolio resilience.

Notably, half of respondents to the poll from Aberdeen Investments and CoreData Research said the traditional 60/40 stock-bond framework no longer provides sufficient diversification in today’s environment. At the same time, nearly half of advisors said clients are more open to commodity investments now than they were five to ten years ago, suggesting growing receptivity — if not yet decisive action.

That openness has translated more broadly into alternatives. More than half of advisors said they have increased allocations to nontraditional assets in recent years, largely in response to market uncertainty and the search for diversification. Still, commodities have not captured the same momentum as other alternative strategies.

Roughly two-thirds of advisors said clients struggle to understand how commodities fit into their financial goals, and 41% said the asset class is harder to explain than equities or fixed income. As a result, discussions often focus narrowly on diversification, rather than the broader roles commodities can play, including liquidity management and inflation sensitivity.

Client interest tends to cluster around familiar segments. Precious metals draw attention from nearly nine in ten advisors, while energy follows at about half. Other areas of the commodity spectrum receive far less consideration, reflecting uneven familiarity across the asset class.

“Commodities have proven to be a critical tool for building portfolio resilience in a world of policy volatility,” said Robert Minter, Director of ETF Investment Strategy at Aberdeen. “Yet they remain one of the least understood asset classes, despite growing advisor interest. Education is the key to closing that gap. Commodities can do far more for portfolios than simply provide diversification.”

When advisors do allocate, exchange-traded funds dominate implementation with sector-focused ETFs and broad-based commodity ETFs the most commonly used vehicles, favored for their liquidity, transparency, and ease of access. More complex strategies such as managed futures and hedge funds remain niche solutions.