Oil and Gas Stock

[pretty cheap jewelry]

I have a very nicely balanced investment portfolio thanks to my advisor with Morgan Stanley. It ranges from (mutual funds including) health care, technology, real estate, selected Dow Jones companies, selected Standard and Poor companies, and more.

My next step is obtaining oil and gas stock. These are at a temporary low IMO. Specifically Sunoco and Valero.

Just curious on others willingness to invest in the above.

DISCLAIMER: this post is absolutely my own opinion and cannot be construed as investment advice or even as accurate information in any way shape or form

[tinapbeana]

personally, i don't invest in gas/oil/petroleum stocks, but it is a preference/beliefs thing.

[Broken Arrow]

Hehe, funny disclaimer.

Is this for short-term or long-term investing?

The energy sector clearly won't be going away anytime soon, but looking to invest because they are at a temporary low suggest short-term gains? I suppose that's OK if it's within context of your overall portfolio (such as 10% of your portfolio allocated for risky but potentially lucrative ventures).

Otherwise, it's best to buy and hold for long-term growth and doing so with an eye to lower expenses as much as possible... which also typically means index type funds.

DISCLAIMER: This post is absolutely my own personal opinion as well, and should not be construed as actual investment advice. Proceed at your own risk.

[PauletteGoddard]

It really depends on your outlook and timeline. If you're a fossil, go invest in the fossil fuels. If you're a right now kind of woman, it makes sense to invest in companies that are profitable thanks to very generous government subsidies (hey, it can't hurt to elect oil people to office if you're an oil executive or an oil stockholder).

I've a different view: I'm thinking people are going to soon be at the point where they can't afford oil or gas for their homes and vehicles, and I've got at least thirty years until retirement. I have been considering an energy ETF, just for the immediate gratification of dividends, so I can afford solar and alternative energies for my home. Last summer middle-aged white men were begging me for $ to feed their inefficient extensions of their pe..., er, vehicles, and I don't know if they were just grifters/professional beggars or if they were a sign of things to come.

To recap: if you're investing for income, go with the oil/gas while prices are manipulatively low. If you're investing for the future, consider a Clean Energy ETF, or read Jim Jubak's MSN Money column "Profit and save the world" (or similarly titled).

[pretty cheap jewelry]

Yes, er...hmmmmm

All these investments are for growth growth growth as part of an IRA. In about 15 yrs withdrawals will be required. So I'm sort of inbetween, not loooooong term growth, definitely income which is immediately used to buy more of the same.

OK as far as these companies, their websites leave a big hole with respect to the source of their oil. They indicate the location of their refineries, carefully worded environmental policies, yadee yadee yadee.

However, I wish to have no part of drilling in the Arctic Circle nor to contribute to further unrest in the Middle East.

Your thoughts are most appreciated and I will proceed whichever way with a clear conscience.

[JBinKC]

As stated in other posts my largest holding is an oil and gas stock=Heritage Oil (for the record it was up about $7CDN dollars to $34.45CDN this week).

[Drumm]

In addition to drilling in the Arctic Circle and furthering unrest in the Middle East, there's the demonstrably real issue of global climate change caused by the use of fossil fuels. (See An Inconvenient Truth if you want the lowdown.) The unethics of investing in oil companies are just too extreme, not to mention that there will not be an oil industry in a hundred years or so.

[sweeps]

Originally Posted by Drumm

not to mention that there will not be an oil industry in a hundred years or so.

I agree with the spirit of your post, but this statement threw me for a loop. Almost all the industries we have now will be non-existent (or at least radically different) 100 years from now.

[kv968]

Originally Posted by Sweepsplayer

I agree with the spirit of your post, but this statement threw me for a loop. Almost all the industries we have now will be non-existent (or at least radically different) 100 years from now.

I don't know if all the industries we have now will be non-existent 100 years from now but I'd be willing to bet there's a good chance that all of us will be

[sweeps]

Originally Posted by kv968

I don't know if all the industries we have now will be non-existent 100 years from now but I'd be willing to bet there's a good chance that all of us will be

Speak for yourself. I have an appointment with my cryogenicist next week.

[thekid]

I hold some oil mutual funds (have so for some time, so caught some of those great returns of the last few years). Prices dipped about 17% between Jan 1st and last week (mostly due to low demand from mild winter), but have come up substantially this week (almost to Dec 31st levels). The funds are now fairly close to their peak (which was last summer).

The market doesn't seem to know which direction to take right now. I doubt that short term they will go much higher than last summer. I gather there is a better chance that they remain at where they are or go down some. So, I'd wait for now. But that's only a guess.

Personally, I like having a small portion of my long term retirement portfolio in oil mutual funds. I believe that long term demands, particularly from developing countries, is going to strain supply of this limited source commodity (say over the next 10-20 years). I also like that OPEC acts as a security valve by cutting production when prices drop too much. I also like that western countries- read the US primarily- are looking at purchasing as much oil from allied countries -read Canada, which constitutes the major part of my funds holdings- as possible to reduce reliance on middle-eastern oil. The major long term risk in the industry is alternative sources of energy -whose environmental benefits I would welcome more than my small holdings.

All in all, I feel it's a good long term investment -but right now I'd wait for better prices to buy in. I wouln't buy much into it though, the bulk of my retirement holdings is in indexed funds.

[kv968]

Originally Posted by Sweepsplayer

Speak for yourself. I have an appointment with my cryogenicist next week.

Get me a price quote on a cryogenic vessel would you please sweeps? I'll bring my own liquid nitrogen