ETF Portfolios: Obama Trade — Alternative energy stocks with GEX

One of Obama’s top priorities is making our nation energy independent with alternative energy. A barrel of oil trades in the $60s and has been coming down for awhile. But over time, energy will probably rise. If our country can build energy independence, it creates jobs, helps our national security and stops the dramatic wealth transfer to potential enemies of our country.

If Obama does what he promises, there will be more investments in the alternative energy field. Instead of trying to pick the best stocks and learn all about these companies, you can own one stock, an ETF (exchange traded fund) that is a basket of the top companies in this sector.

The Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (NYSE: GEX) is a low cost way to play alternative energy. GEX is built around an index developed by Ardour Global which includes companies that generate power through eco friendly and non-traditional sources. It started the year at $60.45 and has corrected down to $23.27 today.

Buy GEX as you would any other stock at your online stock broker, and you’ll own a basket of companies including First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) which makes solar power modules, Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) which lets utilities do meter reading through wireless transmission, Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) which makes photovoltaic solar cells (PV cells) and solar electric systems and Vestas Wind Systems (NASDAQ: VWSYF), in Denmark which is the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer with some 35,000 wind turbines installed.

Market Vectors charges only a .65% fee for GEX to run computer models in order to maintain this ETF basket – a lot cheaper than mutual funds who pay managers to “beat the market” by selecting the best stocks. The top 10 holdings are listed below and include 66.38% of all total assets. Many of these stocks are located in foreign countries so you get currency and global exposure.