Commodity investor sophistication increasing, says Barclays Capital

A survey of 150 Barclays Capital clients has found that half expect to have more than a 10% exposure to commodities in their portfolios, a threefold increase from a similar poll carried out in 2005.

The survey took place at Barclays Capital’s third annual US Commodities Investor Conference in New York this week, polling asset managers, banks, endowments, hedge funds, insurance companies and pension funds looking for increased exposure to oil, natural gas, metals and environmental markets.

Barclays said that its investors were mostly interested in carbon emissions trading as a vehicle to gain such exposure, followed by alternative energy equities, a result which demonstrates the growing