Courtesy of Benzinga.
It has been said that buy-and-hold investing is dead. Plenty of experts and pundits say it is. That doesn’t mean patience isn’t a virtue when it comes to the financial markets. There are still opportunities from the long side for those with extended time horizons.
Following a volatile 2011, the ETF universe actually has a fair amount of choices worth looking at for the patient investor willing to wait a while for big returns. In fact some, some of the funds on this list could turn into two-baggers. Obviously, there’s no guarantee of that, so let’s just get that disclaimer out of the way now, but with a cooperative market and the right time frame, some of these ETFs could be big-time surprises for investors’ portfolios.
Let’s get to it…
Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE: URA) Why not start off with one of 2011’s worst-performing and most controversial ETFs? Prior to the natural disasters that struck Japan, the Global X Uranium ETF had been a decent performer since its late 2010 debut, but when the nuclear industry sneezed, URA caught the plague. The chart indicates URA may have finally put in a bottom and for $9 you’ve basically got a no expiration date call option on a rebound in uranium equities.
Granted, it could take 18 months or more for URA to be a double, but if uranium prices jump and China and India bring new nuclear power projects on line, URA will be a winner.
First Trust ISE Revere Natural Gas Index Fund (NYSE: FCG) As we noted FCG is not off to a good start in 2011. A lot of that comes from the fact that natural gas in this ETF’s name, implying its constituents are being plagued by falling prices for that commodity. Yes, almost every company found in FCG produces nat gas, but there are plenty of big name oil companies in this ETF and the ones that have been known more as gas plays are looking to move away from gas and boost their oil output.
Not to mention, companies like Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) and several other FCG holdings could easily be acquired this year and that would boost the ETF’s fortune. From the current area of $17, it’s hard to see FCG going to $34 for a double, but asking for 40%-50% over a long-term time horizon isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN) Putting the Guggenheim Solar ETF on this list isn’t an endorsement of the fund itself or solar equities. That said, TAN has gotten off to an excellent start this year after joining URA as one 2011’s worst ETFs. The theory that things can’t much worse for a particular sector really isn’t actionable investment advice, but TAN’s chart has started to improve and the ETF is volatile enough that if good news actually found its way to solar stocks, TAN could run hard and fast to the upside. Just don’t be deceived by the high yield on this ETF.
EGShares India Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: SCIN) Yes, we went out on a limb and said ETFs like SCIN could rebound this year. The rebound might be underway right now. SCIN’s start to 2012 has been fantastic, the chart is enticing, the ETF just cleared its 50-day moving average and on a day when U.S. stocks are getting crushed, SCIN is up almost 1%.
These are big “ifs,” but if India can dampen inflation and emerging markets stocks are favored for 18-24 months, SCIN could double.
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