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I am continually seeking undervalued or under-discovered Silver, Gold, Base Metal, Natural Gas, Oil, and Uranium exploration & junior mining companies who have solid fundamentals with explosive blue-sky potential. My rule before taking a large position in any one stock is that it be reasonably easy to understand. You will likely find most of my favorites are quite simple and straight forward companies.
Investing in the junior resource market is far from simple, until you spend some time doing quality research and/or discover some good advisors. If you have the time and interest to do your own research then I suggest you create your personal “investing rules and guidelines”. There are just too many junior resource stocks to be able to follow them all. My strict rules for “country safe” locations really helped. I am currently only investing in companies with projects located in Canada and Mexico; in the US perhaps Nevada and Alaska. Outside of these regions any of my holdings are very minor.
My Rules for Investing:
#1 Trust Management. If you cannot get a "read" on Management, but like their projects and game plan; do your research, make clear notes with your questions, and then call them up. If you get a good "feel" then maybe pick up a few shares and monitor them closely over time. If your level of trust improves and the story is unfolding nicely - then gradually add more shares until you have your position. Most of the time when I have invested in companies where I have issues with management it has turned out to be a negative experience.
Danger signals with Management can be summed up quite simply: if you feel you are being "sold" instead of the President or Investor Relations "explaining" their game plan, then perhaps you should consider moving on.
#2 Country Safe. If you are not comfortable with the politics of the country the company is operating in, but love the project, best to just dip your toe in for a few, and watch the situation closely, or move on. There are a lot of juniors to choose from and there is no reason to take on a lot of political risk. Many 3rd world countries have potentially rich resources, but too many have historically been shafted by the Corporate Titans of the Western World. Generally the vast majority of the population in these countries remained in poverty while the Titans cut deals with the ruling elite 1%. For many resource rich 3rd world countries it is now pay-back time. Anti U.S. (or perhaps Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al) sentiments are especially at extremes right now, and often most “western” corporations are painted with a similar brush.
My favorite places to invest have been Mexico and Canada. In the US Nevada and Alaska are likely fine but they are not a current focus of mine. I do hear good things about Chile. I will be watching Mexico closely prior to the next elections for any surge of social unrest.
#3 Easy to Understand Projects. If you don’t "get it", then you are 100% at the mercy of:
- management’s integrity,
- your broker or newsletter advisor
If you cannot get a handle on the above 3 investing concepts and apply them to your portfolio mix, it may be best for you to invest in a few well managed Mutual Funds. This one is worth a look for partial "insurance" www.bmsinc.ca and there is lots of useful reading on the website. Many of the high profile newsletter writers are more interested in getting sweet deals from the companies they provide coverage for, then helping you build a good portfolio of quality stocks. Some stock brokers either spend all their time trying to sell you something so they generate commissions, or are forced to push the latest Big Thing that is backed by their employer. Why buy a few Funds? Because no one investment is safe, any company can be subject to failure or out-right corruption.
By: doing your research, narrowing down your number of "Core" stocks (larger positions) to a few that you can easily monitor, being cautious with "Country Risk" & unethical or incompetent "Management", learn to "Trust Your Guts" (not to be confused with "Greed & Fear"), dump your losers - you should do just fine. Just keep it "simple" and understand your investments.
My absolute favorite stock Discussion Board is SmartInvestment.ca
Here is a direct link to the "Discussion Board" I post either under "muskoka" or Doug Beiers.
Protect yourself and don’t confuse investing with gambling or the greed mentality will take over. Stay with value; if you can find "hidden" value then all the better for your long term profits. I committed 8-12+ hours a day in research for the past 3 years and it took me almost 8 months to develop an investment style that I was comfortable with. There are no short-cuts to quality research.
I wish you all the success going forward, in many ways we are charting unknown waters. There is a very angry segment of the world who have been repressed by (or repressed with the support of) greedy corporate Titans for centuries. These repressed are slowly coming back into power for the first time in recent memory. There will be terrible clashes and tensions but it does not have to be your battle - find your peaceful spot and visit it often.
This is a valuable read to understand how we got to this point in time -www.bmsinc.ca/content/view/281/33/
ALL THE BEST!!
Doug Beiers
Originally Created January 5, 2006, last updated January 10, 2008
From the 1968 Whole Earth Catalogue
PURPOSE
We are as gods and might as well get good at it. So far, remotely done power and glory - as via government, big business, formal education, church - has succeeded to the point where gross defects obscure actual gains. In response to this dilemma and to these gains a realm of intimate, personal power is developing - power of the individual to conduct his own education, find his own inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his adventure with whoever is interested. Tools that aid this process are sought and promoted by the WHOLE EARTH CATALOG.
Disclaimer:
The information presented in this website is drawn from sources believed to be reliable, however the accuracy or completeness of this information is not guaranteed. Neither The Simple Investor Ltd. nor any of its affiliates accepts any liabilities whatsoever for any loss resulting from the use of this website or its content. It should not be assumed that the past performance of any companies featured in this website will equal future performance. The Simple Investor Ltd. is under no obligation to update information contained within this website. The Simple Investor Ltd. does not accept fees or benefits of any nature from any corporation for the selection of the company within this website. Employees and Principals of The Simple Investor Ltd. may hold a position in some of the featured companies securities. The information contained herein is for information purposes only. This website does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The Simple Investor Ltd. is not designed to counsel individual investors; those seeking specific investment advice should consider a qualified investment professional.
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