At the Capstone Student Investment Conference 2026 (CSIC 2026), Massif Capital founder Will Thomson spoke about investing in commodity-related businesses, specifically, why buying commodity producers isn’t necessarily a proxy for getting exposure to that commodity.
Background on Will Thomson and Massif Capital
Before founding Massif Capital in 2016, Thomson was a co-founder of a portfolio of credit and political risk insurance policies and worked as the strategic and economic advisor on counter-corruption and election planning for a NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. He graduated from Trinity College and has a master’s degree in government from Harvard University.
Massif Capital focuses on opportunities in real assets, investing in basic materials, energy and industrial businesses, looking for ways to balance environmental and economic concerns. The firm invests 80% of its portfolio in 10 stocks.
Do stocks offer the commodity exposure investors think they do?
Thomson said the research associated with his presentation arises out of a challenge he’s had on the capital-raising front. He explained that family offices and other institutional investors typically ask him where oil, copper, gold or other commodities are going. His response is always that he doesn’t know because they will oscillate. Thomson doesn’t actually invest in those commodities. He actually invests in companies that happen to produce them.
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