These minerals will power tomorrow’s cars

Article Excerpt

Automakers increasingly rely on lithium and rare-earth elements to make batteries for their electric vehicles (EVs). In 2017, share prices for producers of those minerals jumped on speculation EV sales will eventually lead to shortages (see Supplement, page 10). Longer term, lithium and rare earth prices could fall if producers flood the market in their rush to meet rising demand. Regardless, we think the best way to invest in these minerals is with ETFs. Here’s a look at two prominent ones. GLOBAL X LITHIUM & BATTERY TECH ETF $37 (New York symbol LIT; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $944.5 million) invests in companies involved in the full lithium cycle, from mining and refining the metal through to battery production. The fund invests globally, with 38% of its portfolio holdings in the U.S., 20% in Chile and 13% in Korea. The ETF holds 33 stocks; the top 10 make up 77% of its total assets. They are FMC Corp. (U.S.: chemicals), Albemarle…