"It's a common assumption that the average individual investor has zero allocation to commodities, " says Matthew Carvalho, director of investment research at Loring Ward, a financial-advisory firm in San Jose, Calif.

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Some analysts suggest splitting one's commodity allocation equally across funds with direct exposure to commodities and those that invest in stocks.

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This vicious allocation shift could move investors from bonds to stocks and commodities, particularly.

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Continuing concerns about the prospects of inflation have many investors and advisors looking toward deploying inflation hedges like gold, commodities, TIPs and, despite the recent collapse, even real estate in their allocation models.

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These funds establish a broad allocation to a wide range of assets that include stocks and bonds (both domestic and international), commodities, real estate and other investments.

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