Exchange traded funds allow the average retail investor to gain direct exposure to price movements in commodities, such as agricultural products, industrial metals and precious metals. However, ETF investors are still unable to invest in precious gems, at least for now.
Unlike most commodities, there is no futures market for diamonds. Up-to-date diamond pricing is very inefficient, and those seeking to receive a more accurate market price on diamonds will have to subscribe to reputable sources, reports Bryan Harris for CNBC.
In part, the greatest challenge in “commodifying” diamonds is efficiently coming to a standardized price as diamonds categories come in a combination of the four C’s – cut, clarity, color and carats.
“A ‘normal’ investor will generally not be able to purchase a large enough pool of diamond assets with diverse characteristics in order to create a diversified portfolio effect,” Saul Singer, a partner in Fusion Alternatives, said in the article. “On the sell-side, the ‘normal’ investor will be limited in his or her ability to liquidate the diamond assets at fair market value.”
Nevertheless, the fund industry may be taking a look. Since there are no diamond futures being trading on the commodities exchange, a diamond ETF would most likely be backed by physical holdings, similar to the most prominent precious metals ETFs.