Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

[blazespinnaker]

With Peak Oil & Obama poised to take the reins, I think alternative energy has a big future. Even McCain is big on this.

I just pumped 5% of my portfolio into this today.

Anyone else?

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

With Peak Oil & Obama poised to take the reins, I think alternative energy has a big future. Even McCain is big on this.

I just pumped 5% of my portfolio into this today.

Anyone else?

I put ~0.5% of my portfolio into it on 1/28/08. I'll write a bit more later.

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

Hey, Blaze, just how are you expecting the US equity markets to perform over the term you expect to hold GEX?

Your being Canadian, what does one have to do there to buy a US ETF or stock? I have no idea how it works. Not important except to salve my curiosity.

[jimmygu3]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

With Peak Oil & Obama poised to take the reins, I think alternative energy has a big future. Even McCain is big on this.

I just pumped 5% of my portfolio into this today.

Anyone else?

I can't buy ETFs inside my 401k, but I have held ~6% of my portfolio in Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy (GAAEX) for the last 9 months. I just doubled down last week, with current holdings at ~12%. I also have large short positions against the indexes, so I am hedged against a broad market decline.

I could see some real mania developing around AE if and when Obama is elected. Remember 1998 when the top performing fund was 'Internet Fund'? Maybe in 2009 it will be GAAEX.

[rabot10]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

With Peak Oil & Obama poised to take the reins, I think alternative energy has a big future. Even McCain is big on this.

I just pumped 5% of my portfolio into this today.

Anyone else?

Silver and Gold for me! I have been wrong many times in the past and could be wrong now - don't think so lol

[zoog]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

With Peak Oil & Obama poised to take the reins, I think alternative energy has a big future. Even McCain is big on this.

I just pumped 5% of my portfolio into this today.

Anyone else?

I mentioned in some other thread that I bought into PBW. That was not quite a month ago and it has basically gone nowhere so far, but I am hoping things will start to pick up in the months ahead. The international exposure of GEX would be nice.

[jayers4647]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

It is SLV, GLD, RSW and cash right now. We're shorting the market until
EJ gives us the "ALT' picks ! I assume we will be able to buy them at lower prices with the right timing.

[FRED]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

It is SLV, GLD, RSW and cash right now. We're shorting the market until
EJ gives us the "ALT' picks ! I assume we will be able to buy them at lower prices with the right timing.

That's the plan!

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

It is SLV, GLD, RSW and cash right now. We're shorting the market until
EJ gives us the "ALT' picks ! I assume we will be able to buy them at lower prices with the right timing.

What if he doesn't and what if whatever the "ALT" picks are, they are never lower?

[Andreuccio]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

What if he doesn't and what if whatever the "ALT" picks are, they are never lower?

Then the plan failed.

[blazespinnaker]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

Hey, Blaze, just how are you expecting the US equity markets to perform over the term you expect to hold GEX?

Your being Canadian, what does one have to do there to buy a US ETF or stock? I have no idea how it works. Not important except to salve my curiosity.

I have a 10 year horizon. I believe US equities will do OK.

You'd probably do better with emerging markets, but the volatility frightens me .. I can't hack it China is still a fascist state last time I checked. Russia is a wild child. India is doing the nuke dance with Pakistan. The only one I might consider is Brazil, but even then, they have a spotty history.

It's one reason I can't buy gold, to be honest. Look at it's history .. I simply couldn't sleep at night with volatility like that. When you invest, you need to be preprared to accept dips, so make sure you're in something you believe will go back up within your horizon. Gold does not have a history of doing that, everything else does.

As for buying stocks, you just need to sign up with the right broker account. All of them (QTrade, BMO Investorline, etc etc) have real time quotes and trading with US markets. Canada really is just the 51st state.

I'm with HSBC and they have exposure to all the optios markets and foreign (ie: across the pond) markets, bonds included, as well as a pretty sweet currency exchange.

Good luck on Gold folks. I'm very glad it's worked out for you. I don't feel the slightest twinge of regret for not joining in, though, because I know I could never have held my position after each run up.

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

I have a 10 year horizon. I believe US equities will do OK.

You'd probably do better with emerging markets, but the volatility frightens me .. I can't hack it China is still a fascist state last time I checked. Russia is a wild child. India is doing the nuke dance with Pakistan. The only one I might consider is Brazil, but even then, they have a spotty history.

It's one reason I can't buy gold, to be honest. Look at it's history .. I simply couldn't sleep at night with volatility like that. When you invest, you need to be preprared to accept dips, so make sure you're in something you believe will go back up within your horizon. Gold does not have a history of doing that, everything else does.

As for buying stocks, you just need to sign up with the right broker account. All of them (QTrade, BMO Investorline, etc etc) have real time quotes and trading with US markets. Canada really is just the 51st state.

I'm with HSBC and they have exposure to all the optios markets and foreign (ie: across the pond) markets, bonds included, as well as a pretty sweet currency exchange.

Good luck on Gold folks. I'm very glad it's worked out for you. I don't feel the slightest twinge of regret for not joining in, though, because I know I could never have held my position after each run up.

Thanks, Blaze. A ten-year horizon might work out well if EJ's impression on inflation is correct, if stocks continue to be inflation hedges, and if the world actually turns serious about clean/alternative energy--which I suppose it must. It would seem a good bet though that holding anything 10 years or more will entail its share of volatility.

If one believes the gloomy scenario being painted everywhere right now for the US will play out, which I suppose it well may do, then there should be some better opportunity to buy stocks in probably most sectors in the next year or so.

To my knowledge, which is always limited, I don't think most brokerages here allow direct trading in the 51st state.

[BiscayneSunrise]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

I thought the only volatility for gold was on the upside. :p

[BiscayneSunrise]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

http://charts.barchart.com/custom/stocks/0140.gif

GEX has tracked the price of oil pretty well but has decoupled two months ago. Perhaps, now is a buying opportunity?

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: Piling into GEX .. anyone else?

http://charts.barchart.com/custom/stocks/0140.gif

GEX has tracked the price of oil pretty well but has decoupled two months ago. Perhaps, now is a buying opportunity?

I think that is a nice observation, Greg. Perhaps you are correct.

If some, most, all of recent increase in price of $WTIC is due to decrease in value of bonar, and bonar collapses from here (which I am not convinced it will, but of course don't know) then the action of GEX may well depend more on how the prices of general equities do than it does on oil.

It seems to be a reasonable argument to me that if oil becomes more expensive so will companies working to decrease the dependence on oil for energy.

I'm not adding to my small position of GEX now, because I still suspicion equities will go lower, but when it the question.