Aberdeen Investments Survey: Despite Strong 2025 Performance, Commodities Remain Under-Owned and Misunderstood

New research highlights disconnect between returns, advisor conviction, and client adoption

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Investments, and CoreData Research today released a joint survey of 300 U.S. financial advisors, representing $116 billion in assets, revealing that despite standout performance in 2025, commodities remain under-owned and widely misunderstood by investors.

The survey finds that while advisors increasingly recognize the role of commodities in building resilient portfolios, limited client understanding and narrow investment conversations continue to constrain broader adoption. Half (51%) of advisors surveyed say that traditional 60/40 portfolios can't deliver the resilience needed in today's environment, and 70% rank downside protection as the top priority for client portfolios over the next 12 months.

Yet average commodity allocations remain just 4.6% of portfolios.

Strong performance has not translated into broader adoption

Heightened macroeconomic uncertainty and strong recent returns have renewed interest in commodities. Nearly half (49%) of advisors say clients are more open to commodity allocations today than they were five to ten years ago, and 54% report increasing their use of alternative assets for diversification.

At the same time, 44% of advisors say their optimal commodity allocation would be at least 6%, indicating significant room for growth relative to current portfolio positioning.

These findings point to a persistent gap between performance, advisor conviction, and client implementation.

Education gaps continue to limit portfolio integration

Despite improving sentiment, client understanding remains a major barrier. Two-thirds (66%) of advisors say clients are not aware of how commodities can support their financial goals, while 41% say the asset class is harder to explain than traditional investments.

As a result, discussions often focus narrowly on diversification rather than the full range of potential benefits. While 83% of advisors emphasize diversification, far fewer highlight liquidity, inflation sensitivity, or exposure to long-term structural trends.

Client interest remains most concentrated in precious metals (89%) and energy (50%), reflecting advisors' strongest areas of familiarity.

Aberdeen Investments Director of ETF Investment Strategy Robert Minter said, "Commodities have proven to be a critical tool for building portfolio resilience in a world of policy volatility. 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."

ETFs enable both education and execution

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have emerged as the preferred vehicle for commodities exposure, helping bridge the gap between growing interest and practical implementation. Sixty percent of advisors primarily use sector-specific commodity ETFs, while 56% use broad-based products, citing simplicity, liquidity, and ease of use.

More complex strategies—such as managed futures and hedge funds – remain far less common. Other vehicles include commodity-linked equities (40%), commodity-focused mutual funds (33%), and actively managed SMAs or hedge funds (18%).

"Transparent ETFs create the foundation for both education and execution. They simplify access while helping advisors and clients better understand how commodities work. We've invested heavily in educating clients throughout their commodity investing journey," Minter added.

Methodology

This survey was conducted by CoreData Research for Aberdeen Investments in October–November 2025. It captures responses from 300 U.S. financial advisors representing $116 billion in client assets. The online survey included a mix of independent advisors, broker-dealers, RIAs, and wirehouse professionals. All data was anonymized and aggregated to ensure unbiased, reliable insights into advisor allocation trends and attitudes toward commodities and global megatrends to present a clear path forward for policymakers, decision-makers, and portfolio allocators.

Notes to editors

About Aberdeen Investments

Aberdeen Investments is a global specialist asset manager that focuses on areas where we have both strength and scale across public and private markets, including credit, specialist equities and real assets.

• Our teams collaborate across regions, asset classes and specialisms, connecting diverse perspectives and working with clients to identify investment opportunities that suit their needs.
• As of December 31, 2025, Aberdeen Investments had approximately $525.2 billion in assets under management.
• www.aberdeeninvestments.com

SOURCE Aberdeen Investments