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Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 21, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Those are different trades, though. (Warning: speculation on the price fluctuation of assets) The gold rally is due to a combination of "debasement trade" (the idea that current debt levels are unsustainable and the only way out is via printer) and a bet on multipolarity (USD status as reserve currency being threatened, due to a variety of reasons), silver is a speculative derivative of the same trade, as far as I know there is a lot of silver to mine everywhere still.

What @thejdizzler is talking about is a structural undersupply of copper, long term. I'm not actually sure if copper futures are the best expression of that trade, I assume you've bought the longest dated ones available?

Those are different trades, though.

Yeah. And? An investor should always seek to compound their money as quickly as possible, rather than sit with weaker performing assets for long periods of time.

Because it's a silly point to make in the context of whether they are acting on their stated beliefs, and whether that paid off vs a reasonable benchmark.

Absent that, it's pointless to discuss which or what asset performed better, should've bought Banco Santander stock.

Absent that, it's pointless to discuss which or what asset performed better, should've bought Banco Santander stock.

It's not pointless. Asset performances aren't drawn from the wizard's hat.

I've just bought an index fund that's supposed to track copper futures. CPER is the ticker name. I believe it is a basket of futures up to a year out.

"Total Expense Ratio 1.06%"

Ouch. vicente_del_bosque.gif

Not too late to sell and buy a low-cost broadly diversified ETF or MF.

I hate commissions as much as anyone, but that doesn't seem outrageous for this kind of strategy, it's probably far cheaper than trading it on your own, considering the outrageous commissions for futures contracts.

ouch yea I didn't do enough research! This is a problem for 2026!

I believe

Fund literature

The investment objective of CPER is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its shares’ per share NAV to reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of the SummerHaven Copper Index Total Return (the “SCI”), less CPER’s expenses.

The overall return on the SCI is generated by two components: (i) uncollateralized returns from the Benchmark Component Copper Futures Contracts comprising the SCI, and (ii) a daily fixed income return reflecting the interest earned on hypothetical 3-month Treasuries, calculated using the weekly auction rate for 3-Month Treasuries published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. SHIM is the owner of the SCI.

Commodity nameCopper
Commodity symbolHG
Allowed contractsAll 12 calendar months
Max. tenor12