Trading commodities is often seen as being more risky than the stock market. Mark Hulbert says that based on a recent study, over the last 45 years commodities are 19% less risky and produce almost identical returns. And it isn't enough just to buy commodity company stocks:

Over the last four decades, their commodity futures index more than tripled the cumulative performance of the average stock involved in the production of those commodities. The professors conclude: "an investment in commodity company stocks has not been a close substitute for an investment in commodity futures."