After the gold rush

Last year saw retail investors flock to commodities and use structured products to access niche sectors such as freight. But as the global downturn tightens its grip, demand is focusing on delta one exposure to gold and oil. Will the commodity-linked structured products space survive the correction? Sophia Morrell reports

In 2008 it seemed as though investors were in a race to find the most obscure consumable good in demand and then the smartest way to achieve attractive returns from it, whether it was lean hogs, petroleum or freight. But unanticipated and severe corrections have punished many who acted on their curiosity about the space, and those left behind have two principal interests - physical gold and oil. Bullion is increasingly seen as the final haven of financial security in the face of credit risk