13 Ways To Invest In Copper

Posted on October 13, 2011 by

Copper is arguably the most useful industrial metals, as it can be found in a number of household products. Aside from its most evident use in wires and plumbing, copper is a key element in auto parts like brakes, cooling systems, and even the Statue of Liberty, which features over 80 tons of copper in its brilliant structure. It seems that today, the only metal investors truly care about is gold, as its volatile price swings as well as rapid price appreciation in recent years has pushed it into the limelight. But gold’s practical uses are extremely limited, making it more of a speculative investment than one in industry. Copper on the other hand, is the perfect investment for those looking for a commodity tied to more than just volatility [see also 25 Ways To Invest In Silver].

Posted in Academic Research, Copper, Exclusive, Industrial Metals | Tagged | 12 Comments

Can You Do Better Than GDX In The Gold Mining Space?

Posted on October 12, 2011 by

Commodity investors should rejoice over the recent growth in the ETF industry, as a number of new products have hit the markets in recent months offering a wide range of ways to target the commodity space. These new ETFs allow investors to slice and dice the market into very granular segments with funds targeting everything from rare earth metals to farming. This allows investors to target only the sector of the commodity world that they feel offers the best risk/return profile, resulting in exposure that can conform more closely with investment objectives.  

Posted in Commodity ETFs, Exclusive, Gold, Precious Metals | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Three Things Wall Street Journal Didn’t Tell You About Commodities

Posted on October 11, 2011 by

Investing in commodities has certainly picked up in recent years, but it seems that the overall industry has begun to experience some growing pains. As is common with newer investment types (not that commodities are new, but their heavy popularity is), analysts will lash out and tell investors why this asset class is bad news. Such is the case with a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “The Case Against Commodities“. This piece outlines a number of the dangers and issues that come along with commodity investing. But investors shouldn’t take it at face value, as there are a number of factors that WSJ neglected to mention [see also Three Reasons Why Gold Is Overvalued].

Posted in Academic Research, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Exclusive | Tagged , , , , | 32 Comments

ProShares Debuts Leveraged Natural Gas ETFs

Posted on October 10, 2011 by

This article originally appeared on ETFdb.com ProShares, the largest issuer of geared ETFs that has made a push into the alternatives space, adding two more products to its lineup late last week. The new Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas (BOIL) and UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas (KOLD) are both linked to the Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex, a benchmark that consists of natural gas futures contracts. BOIL will seek to deliver daily results that correspond to 200% of the change in the underlying index, while KOLD will target -200% of the daily returns of the benchmark. With the launch of the two new products ProShares now offers ten leveraged commodity funds, including ETFs linked to gold (UGL, GLL), silver (AGQ, ZSL), crude oil (UCO, SCO), and a broad basket of natural resource futures (UCD, CMD). “There has been strong demand for geared commodity ETFs, as investors have come to recognize the importance … See the full story here →

Posted in Commodity ETFs, Energy, Natural Gas, New ETF Launches | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Inside Copper’s Plunge: How To Make A Play

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

Copper is perhaps the most popular industrial metal, not only in its application to the real world, but also from an investing standpoint. As one of the most versatile and important metals, it makes sense for copper to be an investor favorite, after all, copper has an endless list of uses. Among plumbing and wiring, copper also shows up in power generation and transmission, heating and cooling systems, and telecommunications equipment. Copper is a key part of motors, brakes, and other auto parts, and is widely used in electronic products as well [see also Ultimate Guide To Copper Investing].

Posted in Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Copper, Exclusive, Industrial Metals | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Detailing Gold’s Wild Q3

Posted on October 5, 2011 by

By now, most investors are fully educated on gold’s safe haven abilities as well as its jaw-dropping returns. The past few years have seen the precious metal surge while equities have been anything but stable, drawing plenty of attention to the shiny commodity. First, it was the shattering of the $1,000/oz. barrier that put gold on the map. But it didn’t stop there, as the $1,400, $1,500, and even the $1,900/oz. mark was surpassed for a brief period of time. With gold appreciating rapidly, investors have been following its every move over the last few months, creating a headache for many, as the precious metal had a turbulent third quarter [see also 50 Ways To Invest In Gold].

Posted in Exclusive, Gold, Precious Metals | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

25 Ways To Invest In Silver

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

Now that Q4 is underway, investors are scrambling to find the right asset class for this rocky environment. Last quarter wreaked havoc on a number of investments and portfolios alike, as the global economy seems to be on a downward spiral. Given the current environment, various investors have flocked to their favorite safe havens to wait out the storm. Gold is perhaps the most popular safe haven in troubled markets, though its actual use as a metal is relatively low. As such, there has been much speculation over whether or not the metal is overvalued, scaring a number investors out of gold and into another precious metal, silver [see also 50 Ways To Invest In Gold].

Posted in Academic Research, Commodity ETFs, Commodity Futures, Commodity Producers, Exclusive, Precious Metals, Silver | Tagged , , , | 62 Comments