Here’s a look at three fallen angels trading near their 52-week lows that could be worth buying.
Mellow yellow
If you’ve been following this series with any regularity over the past two years, you’re likely aware that I feel quite confident in the future of most gold companies. Perhaps the two areas that offer the greatest uncertainty would be African miners, which have significantly higher mining costs, or developmental-stage explorers, which have no guarantee of future production and must contend with the rising cost of building out a mine. This is why I feel it’d be best to spread out your risk of these developmental miners with the Global X Gold Explorers ETF.
I feel this ETF offers a few notable advantages over guessing which development company will be the next breakout candidate. First, it lowers your risk of buying into a dud. Trust me, there will be successes and there will be duds. This fund will help balance those risks so you can really take advantage of the successes. Second, asset sales can be quite common with developmental-stage gold companies. Guessing which companies may complete an asset sale is like trying to find a needle in a haystack; unless you own this ETF, of course, which holds 20 different developing gold miners.
Another reason this fund looks attractive (at least to me) is that Rubicon Minerals Corp. (USA) (NYSEMKT:RBY) is one of its largest holdings at 6.02% of its assets as of May 10, 2013. Rubicon Minerals Corp. (USA) (NYSEMKT:RBY) is in the late stages of the development process for the F2 Gold System, which has yielded drilling assessments as high as 767 grams/ton. F2 appears to be just as bountiful in gold well below the surface as it is near the surface, which could mean a very long and profitable mine life for Rubicon Minerals Corp. (USA) (NYSEMKT:RBY).
Following a pummeling in spot gold and miners last month, this ETF with an annual expense ratio of 0.65% looks like a bargain buy moving forward.
Treat this stock like royalty
Sticking with the shiny yellow metal, I thought we’d turn the tables from mining ETFs to royalty interest behemoth Royal Gold, Inc USA) (NASDAQ:RGLD). Royal Gold, Inc USA) (NASDAQ:RGLD) is to the gold sector what Silver Wheaton is to the silver sector. If you’ve got a need for cash to build out a project, then Royal Gold, Inc USA) (NASDAQ:RGLD) has the cash in exchange for a low fixed price for that gold over a specified time period.
As you might expect, royalty interest companies have some advantages and some disadvantages. For Royal Gold, Inc USA) (NASDAQ:RGLD), the $200 drop in the spot price of gold comes directly out of its margins and is a big reason its share price was hit hard this year. In addition, problems that arise in mines it has contracts with can reduce production and, therefore, profitability. Conversely, royalty interest companies’ obligations end with their contractual payment. This means the ongoing costs of mine maintenance, repairs, and expansion isn’t part of their budget and falls on the mining companies themselves. The actual expenses for royalty interest companies are quite minimal.
