Investing Before Or After A Natural Disaster

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Similar to investing in "Sin Stocks," i.e., alcohol, tobacco, casino, weapons companies, investing with the mindset of making money before or after a natural disaster, such as a hurricane like Harvey that hit Texas a few weeks ago is often a touchy subject.

But, if you are someone who is alright with investing in this 'morally gray' area, or just want to learn about how others pursue it, together we can take a look at how it is accomplished and a few things to be aware of before deploying capital.

First, while every natural disaster can be incredibly devastating, hurricanes typically seem to account for the bulk of the damage here in the US. In most cases, they are the only real disasters which you can invest around because of their predictability, which gives investors a chance to make investments both before and after the disaster occurs.

Since hurricanes occur along the coast, and more often in the gulf coast region, the one industry they seem to affect is the oil industry. This is because a significant amount of oil is drilled for in the Gulf of Mexico and because a large number of the US's oil refineries and oil shipping ports are found in this region. Continue reading "Investing Before Or After A Natural Disaster"

3 ETFs To Buy If You Think Oil Will Continue To Rise Following OPEC's Decision

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Last week the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC announced that the group had to come an "agreement" to reduce oil production. The new deal slated to cut production from an estimated 33.2 million barrels per day down to 32.5 million barrels per day.

While some Wall Street analysts don't believe the production reduction will actually happen, the fact remains that since OPEC made the announcement, the price of oil is up rather dramatically. Prior to the announcement oil was trading around the $44.50 range and has since jumped to the $50 range.

Many investors are looking at the price of oil and wondering how they can get a piece of this action. Let's take a look at three Exchange Traded Funds you can buy if you believe oil prices will continue to increase. Continue reading "3 ETFs To Buy If You Think Oil Will Continue To Rise Following OPEC's Decision"