Stock Market News

Lithium & Battery Fund Charges ahead 30% in 12 Months

Exciting trends and themes are always appearing in the market and, unlike a decade or so ago, investors today easily can tap them through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), such as the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT).

Lithium and batteries are a theme many investors will recognize due to their association with electric vehicles already introduced by Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS: NSANY) and other manufacturers. Each of those car builders uses lithium-based battery technology.

Tesla recently made headlines for its attempt to start lithium-ion battery production at its new Gigafactory in Nevada. The Gigafactory is projected to employ 6,500 full-time workers by 2018 and singlehandedly double the world’s production capacity for lithium-ion batteries, according to Tesla.

In addition to investing in companies that produce lithium batteries, LIT also invests in lithium mining operations. Assets under management for LIT total $207 million.

The expense ratio is 0.75%, but it does offer a 0.61% dividend yield to help offset that fee. Over the last 12 months, the fund has returned an incredible 30% as the lithium phenomenon truly took off. Returns in prior years weren’t nearly as strong, compared to the show of sudden vivacity in the momentum-gaining lithium-ion battery trend.

Top holdings for LIT include FMC Corp. (FMC), 24.70%; Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM), 14.90%; Samsung, 6.32%; Tesla Motors (TSLA), 6.04%; and Albemarle Corp. (ALB), 5.02%.

If you believe the trend upwards in the lithium battery industry and related technologies is only just beginning, Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT) could be a strong position for your portfolio.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an email. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of Intelligence Report, Investing Edge, the Bullseye Stock Trader, and The Deep Woods (formerly the Weekly ETF Report). His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, Human Events and many others. Jim formerly worked with Investor’s Business Daily founder William J. O’Neil, helping to author training courses in the CANSLIM stock-picking methodology. The independent firm TipRanks rates Jim the No. 3 financial blogger in the world (out of more than 6,000). TipRanks calculates that, since 2012, he's made 361 successful recommendations out of 499 total, earning a success rate of 72% and a +15.3% average return per recommendation. He is known in professional and personal circles as “The Renaissance Man,” because his expertise includes such varied fields as composing and performing music; Western horsemanship, combat marksmanship, martial arts, auto racing and bodybuilding. Jim holds a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a former U.S. Army paratrooper. A self-described “radical for capitalism,” he celebrates the virtue of making money from his Southern California horse ranch.