By DenaliGuide

Every now and then it helps to step back and look at markets with a bit of perspective. After many years watching cycles come and go, I’ve learned that opportunities arise regularly. However, traps for the unwary do as well.
In my latest DGS letter I outlined several sectors that may have potential during the month of March. (If you’d like to receive my emails please comment and I’ll set you up). As always, nothing in markets is guaranteed. But if conditions line up, these are areas I’m watching closely.
- see video below
Sectors on My Radar
The sectors I believe could offer opportunity right now include:
- Copper
- Energy, particularly oil
- Natural gas (possibly later)
- Gold
- Silver
Gold remains what I call the old reliable among metals. It has served as a store of value for centuries and still has a place in portfolios today.
Silver, however, is a different creature entirely. I sometimes refer to it as the merry widow of the metals. It can sit quietly for long periods and then move quickly when conditions change.
Both are worth watching.
Plan Your Profits Before You Make Them
One lesson markets teach sooner or later is that everyone talks about buying, but very few people plan their selling.
If you are fortunate enough to make profits, you should already know:
- When you will take those profits
- How much you intend to sell
- What you plan to do with the money afterward
If you don’t make those decisions ahead of time, the market will often make them for you.
Planning before the moment arrives helps remove emotion from the process.
A Little Reality About Market Mechanics
It also pays to understand how markets actually function.
Prices move constantly throughout the trading day. This is called intraday pricing, and those movements can be dramatic even when nothing has changed about the company itself.
For example, suppose you bought Suncor at $56.75 and the price rises to $57.50. Feeling prudent, you place a stop order to sell if the price falls to $56.00.
A brief dip during the day hits that level and your shares are sold.
Later that same day the stock climbs to $58.00.
You’re out of the stock, and someone else now owns it.
Those quick intraday price movements are simply part of the market environment. They can surprise investors who don’t realize how quickly prices fluctuate.
Keeping Your Strategy Private
Because of this, I generally follow a simple principle.
I don’t like broadcasting my sell prices.
Instead I keep my price ranges in my head and make decisions when the time feels right. Others prefer automated orders through their brokers. Both approaches can work — but investors should understand the mechanics behind them.
My Personal Investing Style
Over time I have settled into a fairly straightforward approach.
I stay away from:
- Options
- Futures
- Crypto speculation
The closest I come are ETFs, sometimes leveraged ones.
In general, I prefer owning real companies within real sectors.
I think of it a bit like a bowl of M&M’s. Instead of betting everything on one piece, I hold several companies within the same sector.
The Rule That Matters Most
After all the charts, analysis, and commentary, there is one rule that matters more than any other:
Tailor your behaviour to your temperament.
Some people are comfortable with risk. Others prefer steadier ground.
Your strategy should match who you are. If your investments keep you awake at night, you are probably taking on more risk than suits you.
Markets have a way of humbling everyone eventually. Old timers like me often say:
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
And that may be the most honest observation of all.
**********
Grannie Doll Reflection:
Nick and I often approach our work from different directions. He comes from decades of market observation. I draw from the rhythms of everyday life. Yet both paths seem to arrive at the same wisdom: plan carefully, stay steady, and know yourself well.

Leave a comment