investing in gold / oil through ETF/ETC

EdGasketTheSecond

So what is your latest question?

oz0707

I suppose the difference is we didn't want to invest in oil just speculate on the price. It's just a gamble but when the price was literally on the floor it's one I wanted to make

Username999

oz0707 said:

I tried to buy an oil fund the other week on my halifax share dealing account. It asked me about 4 questions then decided I was too stupid to understand the risks, I tried answering them different ways a few different times but still didn't manage to convince the computer I was smart enough. If i'm honest I didn't fully understand the risks, but i'm pretty sure I could only lose whatever money I used to buy the fund so can't see why this is so different to individual shares. Since then oil has gone up, not sure if or how much that specific fund has gone up, I lost interest with all this computer says no rubbish

Crude Oil is very risky to trade/invest in, not many individuals understand it all, I certainly do not.
There are many types and prices of Oil.
Most common mentioned is WTI Oil and Brent Oil.
Pro traders would speculate using the Futures Contracts, which are complex instruments.
The 'real' price of Oil can be negative, producers pay to get rid of it! (no where to store it).
You can get exposure to Oil by investing in Oil related companies, BP, Shell, Exxon, Halliburton, Land Trusts (that own the land where Oil is extracted), Oil Storage Companies, etc, etc.
There are over 6,000 USA Shale Oil companies, many of those will go bankrupt if WTI Oil stays below $40.
10 million US jobs depend on Oil, it's a major contributor to US economy (and stock market).
The USA is now a net exporter of Oil, but their cost of production is far higher than Saudi and Russia.
Demand has fallen off a cliff, but Saudi has increased production because Russia would not cut, to bankrupt the US shale upstarts.  
Then there's Iran, Iraq and the largest Venezuela (Oil reserves).
It's a minefield really.
Just buy a good Oil Major IMHO.
 
 

eskbanker

Username999 said:

Demand has fallen off a cliff, but Saudi has increased production because Russia would not cut, to bankrupt the US shale upstarts.  

Record deal to cut oil output ends price war

DiggerUK

If all you want is exposure to gold I would recommend you to buy UK legal tender.
There are no tax implications of any kind as they are free of VAT and CGT, you don't even pay Income Tax on profits.

They are easy to obtain, easy to sell and can be covered on your home insurance.
Holding physical oil is a bit more problematic..._

Barry_Bear

All this complex investment warnings and sophisticated investor tick boxes!
Even professional investment bankers didn't really understand the CDOs that led to the sub prime market crisis.

Only one check box is needed for any stocks or ETFs: I understand that I could make money but in the worst case I could lose all the money I am investing.

Username999

eskbanker said:

Username999 said:

Demand has fallen off a cliff, but Saudi has increased production because Russia would not cut, to bankrupt the US shale upstarts.  

Record deal to cut oil output ends price war

I expect Oil to be extremely volatile in the coming months.
Demand has dropped >30% and a Supply cut of 10% doesn't help much.
Sometime in May/2020 Oil storage runs out, could lead to all sorts of issues.
Even the FED can't buy and store all the surplus, maybe they will pay the US producers to NOT pump?
Legally the US can't make producers stop pumping. 

Albermarle

Only one check box is needed for any stocks or ETFs: I understand that I could make money but in the worst case I could lose all the money I am investing.

Or you could have a check box if you understand how the investments work and therefore understand all ( or most of) the risks.

Like with ETF's

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange-traded_fund

Barry_Bear

Albermarle said:

Only one check box is needed for any stocks or ETFs: I understand that I could make money but in the worst case I could lose all the money I am investing.

Or you could have a check box if you understand how the investments work and therefore understand all ( or most of) the risks.

Like with ETF's

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange-traded_fund

You could but I think mine is better.

Whether you understand, or you just think you understand, how the financial instrument works and the risks, it hardly matters if you don't accept the simple fact in plain English: you could lose all your money.

Username999

May Crude below $18 now.
May Crude below $11 now.
May Crude below $5 now.