Hey 1982, I agree that SXY (which is currently my largest...

Hey 1982, I agree that SXY (which is currently my largest holding) has plenty of exciting things ahead. Don't assume that my average is as low as last Jan as I'm a believer in dollar averaging (up or down) which is what I have done with SXY as she continues to impress me. Today I'm average around 0.192 with a large position and feel really good about this puppy. She has legs and a long way to run!!

My strategy in picking stocks is to limit the number of sectors as in this case Energy, which had taken a severe beating due to the poo, and then I look for the best managed companies in that sector. SXY appealed to me as I watched the prudent management hedge oil and preserve cash during difficult times which showed strong leadership while waiting for the turn around. BPT looked like another player in the sector with a strong portfolio and good upside but not as strong on the management side. STO was another pick that looked like it was taking a huge beating while the poo was down (and maybe rightly so), but I can only hope the new management team can help with the turn around. Performance in STO has been less than stellar but I believe when the poo turns around the entire energy sector will be back in favour with the analysts and most of us will be in the money.

Gold as I mentioned earlier has always been a hedge for me, moving in and out during times of currency swings or global turmoil, so I've always felt good with around 15% of my portfolio in gold.

In the end we all need to do our own DD, but a company like SXY only comes around once in an investors lifetime so I'm holding tight and going to ride this wave till we see the revenues from gas materialize.