Commodity Markets and Real Investments

  • Credits: 6
  • Ending: Examination
  • Range: 2P + 2C
  • Semester: winter
  • Year: 3
  • Faculty of Economics and Finance

Teachers

Included in study programs

Finance, Banking and Insurance

Teaching results

Knowledge:
- Understanding of basic mechanisms of commodity markets functioning
- Understanding of basic relations between commodity markets and the global economy
- Understanding of basic relations between commodity markets and individual segments of the financial markets
- Understanding of real asset market specifics
- Understanding of basic fundamentals affecting individual segments of commodity markets (energies, precious metals, industrial metals, agricultural commodities) and real asset markets (gems, arts artworks and collectibles, realties, water and emmission quotas)
- Understanding of mechanism of functioning of financial tools used on commodity and real asset markets.
Skills:
- The ability to systematically collect and evaluate information related to commodity and real asset markets
- The ability to use technical and fundamental analysis for predicting the future commodity and real asset markets development
- The ability to create a commodity and real asset-focused investment portfolio based on the analysis of available data
Competencies:
- The teamwork ability
- The critical thinking ability
- The analytical thinking ability
- The ability to present the results of own analyses

Indicative content

1. Commodity markets and their position in the real economy. Classification of commodities. The impact of macroeconomic factors on commodity markets. Influence of external factors on commodity markets. Cycles in commodity markets. The relationship between commodity and stock markets
2. Trading on commodity markets. The most important commodity exchanges. Types of trades on commodity markets. Options of investing in commodities. Commodity market investment tools
3. Mining companies and risks in commodity markets. Types of mining companies. The life cycle of a mining company from the investor's point of view. Financing of mining projects. Risks on commodity markets
4. Energy commodities. Global energy market. The most important energy commodities (oil, natural gas, coal, uranium). The main fundamental factors of individual energy markets. Specifics of investing in energy commodities. Green energetics
5. Precious metals. Classification of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum group metals). The specific position of gold in the world economy. The main fundamental factors of individual segments of the precious metals market. Specifics of investing in precious metals
6. Basic industrial metals. Classification of basic industrial metals (iron ore and steel, aluminum, copper, etc.). The main fundamental factors influencing the markets of individual metals. The relationship between basic industrial metals and the global economy. Specifics of investing in basic industrial metals
7. Special industrial metals. Classification of special industrial metals. Battery metals. The main fundamentals of special metals markets. Specifics of investing in special metals
8. Agricultural commodities. Classification of agricultural commodities (cereals, oilseeds, animal products, etc.). Strategic importance of agricultural commodities. Agricultural commodities and weather. Specifics of investing in agricultural commodities
9. Precious stones. Classification of precious stones. Diamond market, pricing specifics and 4C. Specifics of other gemstone markets (emerald, ruby, sapphire, precious opal)
10. Art and collectibles. Different types of art and specifics of the art market. Artworks as an alternative investment asset. Numismatics, notaphilia and philately. Other economically meaningful collector assets
11. Land and real estates. Classification and specifics of the real estate market. Specifics of the land market. Real estates as an alternative investment asset
12. Water and emission quotas. Water as a strategic raw material. Water as an investment asset. Water indices. Kyoto Protocols and Emissions Allowance Mechanisms. Emission allowances as a specific investment asset
13. Development tendencies in commodity markets. Green energy and commodity markets. Electromobility and commodity markets. Global climate change and commodity markets

Support literature

- ÁRENDÁŠ, P. – CHOVANCOVÁ, B. – GACHOVÁ, K. – PAVELKA, Ľ. (2018). Investovanie na trhu komodít a reálnych aktív. Praha: Wolters Kluwer, 2018. ISBN 978-80-759-8186-8
- ROGERS, J. (2008). Žhavé komodity. Praha: GRADA Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-80-247-2342-6
- DAY, A. (2010). Investing in Resources: How to Profit from the Outsized Potential and Avoid the Risks. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. ISBN 978-0-470-89030-1

Requirements to complete the course

15% team portfolio management
25% work on team assignments
60% written exam

Student workload

- 26 hours – lectures
- 26 hours – seminars
- 39 hours – preparation for seminars
- 65 hours – preparation for written exam

Date of approval: 07.02.2022

Date of the latest change: 04.02.2022