Commodities may serve as an important element of an investment portfolio. In this presentation, Dr. Keith Black provides an overview of commodities as an asset class, explore the historical performance of commodities, and comment on their role in asset allocation and inflation protection. We compare the differences between commodities and financial assets. Various methods of obtaining exposure to commodities are evaluated, and we conclude with a discussion of futures based commodities investments. The second half of our program features an interview with Kathryn Kaminski where we explore current topics in commodities investment and look specifically at rising inflation and the possible implications.