Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat's commentary for the week of March 11, 2014?

Article Excerpt

Every now and then, a question comes in that raises an important point about some aspect of investing. Our first question this week (see below) provides a perfect example of theme investing. Theme investors zero in on something that’s going on in the world—in business, politics, technology or society as a whole—and try to cash in on it, directly or indirectly. You can get lucky with theme investing, but there’s a large element of risk. Interest in the theme may slump sooner than you expected. Or, your enthusiasm for the theme may lead you to drop your guard. It may spur you to put money in stocks or other investments that are drastically over-priced or fundamentally flawed. For example, the rising price of gold was a popular investing theme during much of the first decade of this century. As gold rose from under $300 to more than $1,800 per ounce, it presented a wide variety of profit-making opportunities. But the rising price…