This week's issue of Barron's features an in depth interview with Don Coxe, Chief Investment Strategist, BMO Capital Markets. Mr. Coxe is best known for his highly read monthly newsletter, "Basic Points," as well as his bi-weekly conference calls. His convictions that we are in the midst of a biggest long-term commodities bull market have been severely tested during the most recent months since this past summer, when he launched the Coxe Commodity Strategy Fund, but he remains convinced that the thematic fundamentals are in tact.
Here are a few excerpts from the must read interview, "Feed the World - and Boost Returns."
How should investors approach today's stock market?
If you aren't deeply in the equity market, this is not a time to be committing large amounts of money. Stocks are cheap but they can get cheaper; we know that. We got back to the Dow having a multiple of 5.9 in December of '74, which was the foundation of Warren Buffett's wealth because he started buying at that level. The Dow isn't anywhere near 5.9 [its multiple last week was 11], but some of my favorite stocks are trading at lower P/Es than that. I can tell you they are the fertilizer, oil and agricultural companies.
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Tell us some more about those industries.
The core investment concept of our time is that we are living through the greatest simultaneous effervescence of personal economic liberty in history. When people go from abject poverty to dwellings with indoor plumbing, electricity, basic appliances and access to motorized transportation, they have more economic liberty than 99% of humanity enjoys and we are adding 50 to 150 million people a year to that list. The gigantic investment returns are all going to be tied to companies that meet real human needs and do it better than other companies. What a great time to be an investor, because it is not just about the dwellings and the transportation, it is about the high-protein diet. When I came back from a trip two years ago, I said the biggest commodity story is going to be food, bigger than the other ones. It is high-protein food. The way to play that is through the fertilizer stocks, the genetically modified seed stocks and the farm-equipment stocks.
Which commodity groups do you like best?
Agriculture is first. We will need more fertilizer. There are only three farm-equipment companies of any size in the world. Terms of entry are difficult. You have to have dealerships. CNH Global [ticker: CNH] is one of the top three companies in the world in the field. It's a subsidiary of Fiat and its stock has collapsed, but earnings haven't collapsed. In May it sold for $45 a share. It's $17 now. The next group has to be gold stocks. A period of massive reflation always leads to a good move in gold.
To read the entire interview click here.
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Source: Barron's, Feed the World -- Boost Your Returns, November 10, 2008
