Wednesday February 27, 2008
"We're adding a position in one of our favorite ETFs for 2008: the PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSE: DBA), which offers investors an alternative way to invest in the agricultural sector," says Chris Johnson.
The money manager and editor of Insightful Investor explains, "We feel a long-term position in DBA is appropriate for any investor's portfolio."
"One of the areas of the economy that we have been outwardly bullish on is the agricultural group. From a fundamental perspective, the 'ag play' is in full force, as demand and supply remain imbalanced.
"This has been a fantastic catalyst for a number of stocks that have to do with the agriculture sector, as we have heard in the news quite a bit lately.
"While we like the environment that this creates for a number of stocks, there is one agricultural investment that we do not hear trumpeted in the media as much as one might expect. We're referring to an investment in agricultural products, not the companies that help to produce the products.
"DBA is based on the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Agriculture Excess Return, which is composed of futures contracts on some of the most liquid and widely traded agricultural commodities - corn, wheat, soy beans and sugar.
"Overall, we like DBA as a way to invest in agricultural products directly instead of companies in the agricultural field. We thus sidestep any company-specific risks that are increasing as a result of the economy.
"Technically, DBA remains in a strong, tight uptrend, as the shares seem to make new highs on a daily basis.
"This is truly a fundamental story based on signs that the food inflation that has been in place for the past year should continue through 2008. Given this situation, we feel a long-term position in DBA is appropriate for any investor's portfolio."
