Speaking with the Investing News Network (INN) at the International Mining Investment Conference in Vancouver, investor and commentator Cory Fleck of the Korelin Economics Report said investors need to appreciate that there is more to investing than just mining and resources.
“[In my presentation,] I was just trying to drive home to everybody [not to] be too focused on resources,” said Fleck about his talk at the event.
“Have some positions that you feel comfortable with, but realize there’s other stuff going on out in the world. Don’t always be in that bubble and understand that when other markets are moving, there isn’t a whole lot of need for other investors to come into our market. So we are better off [with a] slow and steady strategy rather than [chasing] anything that seems flashy or shiny.”
Fleck said that breakouts in other sectors are contributing to “slowness” in the resource space in 2018. He noted that the Korelin Economics Report is watching base metals, which “continue to be interesting,” and energy resources, which are “very interesting to us.”
He also cautioned investors about smaller battery metals, saying that while there is indeed huge demand, “there are some … energy metals that have more just ridden that wave up.” Some could well be removed from the battery mix through substitution as the sector explores electric vehicle technology.
Watch the video above for more insight from Fleck, or read the full transcript of the interview below.
INN: We’re here at day one the International Mining Investment Conference. How are you finding the event so far?
CF: It’s a little quiet. I think we can all agree on that, but that’s more … the function of the market. It’s coming up to summer, so usually a typically slower time. And the interest, it’s been kind of boring for the last year and a half. But we see some companies out here, we see some investors. It’s more of a function of the market of how slow everything has been.
INN: Today you gave a presentation about what market breakouts investors should watch this year when investing. Can you talk briefly about that?
CF: Sure. So essentially throughout 2018 we have already seen three major markets have significant breakouts. And this contributes to the slowness of the resource sector. So we saw interest rates, even today as we’re recording this, they’re above 3.06 percent, which is, I believe a four-plus-year high. The US dollar has broken down two times in the last year. And we’re also having oil break out to new highs that we haven’t seen since 2011.
So a lot of other markets are moving right now, which I was just trying to drive home to everybody [not to] be too focused on resources. Have some positions that you feel comfortable with, but realize there’s other stuff going on out in the world. Don’t always be in that bubble and understand that when other markets are moving, there isn’t a whole lot of need for other investors to come into our market. So we are better off [with a] slow and steady strategy rather than [chasing] anything that seems flashy or shiny.
INN: Alright. What commodities are you interested in this year?
CF: We always like to follow the precious metals even though they are boring. We’re not expecting any sort of a breakout even this year. The base metals do continue to be interesting, but they’re still staying at elevated levels, the higher part of the range but not doing much. Energy is very interesting to us. As I’ve said, oil has moved. A lot of the oil stocks haven’t moved to the same extent, so we are focused there. But we do keep a focus on the precious metals because we do see a longer-term driver for them. Again, [I] just try not to tell people to come in immediately. Take your time, pick your spots, that’s the strategy.
INN: As an experienced investor, what would be your best piece of advice for someone new to the resource market?
CF: To essentially take your time. This is the best time that you can meet with people and that you can more or less just do your research. Talk to whoever you want, because even here it’s empty. This is the perfect conference for investors because they can actually talk to whoever they want. Some of the best newsletter writers in the industry are walking around. Brent Cook’s walking around with a few people to talk to, but at the same time usually he’s bombarded. This is a good time to just build comfort with stocks. All of these companies here are looking for investors, more so than ever. So if you’re an interested investor, go ask them some questions, just hang out a little bit and see what they have to say and then decide when you feel comfortable getting in.
INN: Are there any particular commodities you are avoiding this year or that you’re not following?
CF: In general — we’re not avoiding, but we are staying a little bit away from some of the smaller battery metals. I host a panel later on at the end of this conference actually on energy metals. There are some energy metals that have gone up in price reasonably, but there are some other energy metals that have more just ridden that wave up. And when you actually dive down into them, understand how they’re mined, understand how they’re used, that’s the most important aspect because there’s a whole lot of substitution factors when metals get too expensive.
So some of these metals that have doubled, tripled over the …read more
From:: Investing News Network