To me, it SEEMS like commodities, particularly oil and gold, are high-risk (same or bigger daily volatility than stocks on average), low-return (3% or so annually over long terms) assets. Correct me if I am wrong on that, but that has been my observation.
If you don't have an objection to that premise, then can you explain why this is the case? Aren't higher risk assets supposed to pay better in the long run? Shouldn't the market price them according to their risk? Is there something fundamentally different about these that justifies their higher risk-reward ratio? Is it because there is a non-investor market for commodities (as opposed to stocks, bonds, etc.) which truly sets the price, and that price is higher than what would be expected for an investment with similar risk and return potential?
I think my last question is the key, maybe. Would love to hear more on this though.