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Comment by pscsbs | Hacker News Reader

If I wanted to invest in lithium, what companies or ETFs should I look at?

If you wanted to invest in lithium, someone should warn you that individuals without special knowledge should not get involved with picking commodities. You'll be buying a lot of volatility with no increase in expected return.

The article mentions Tianqi Lithium, SQM, Albemarle, and FMC. The latter 3 trade on NYSE.

https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:SQM

https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:ALB

https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:FMC

These are the top three holdings in Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (https://www.globalxfunds.com/funds/lit), together composing about 43% of that fund's holdings.

Global X Lithium ETF (NYSE:LIT)

https://www.globalxfunds.com/funds/lit/

At 0.76% management fee and an average return over 5 years of 8.09%, you're better off just investing in an index ETF.

Their own comparison shows the index matching or beating the Lithium ETF in every metric.

* LIT since inception: 38.48%

* Index over same period: 45.82%

You also have zero diversification with a resource ETF. If you really want to buy into only Lithium then I won't try to talk you out of it.

But maybe consider Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG), the average return over 5 years is 14.4%, or nearly double that of LIT. [1]

[1] https://institutional.vanguard.com/iippdf/pdfs/FS967R.pdf

You’re assuming OP wants to invest all of his money in Lithuum. And that past performance remains the same

He's also assuming that ETF is going to perform the same way in the future, when the whole point of TFA is that lithium demand is about to surge.

There was another quote in TFA about the potential to over build mining capacity and flood the market.

But sure, buy this and hope it "surges" more than the general market. Given that billions of devices already have lithium cells in them and the historical performance of the Lithium ETF is still quite disappointing compared to the broader market, I wouldn't hold my breath that this time is any different.

Seems like well researched advice to me, but I literally know nothing about investment. Still, seems like you were being helpful so I upvoted you.

GXY if you're in AUS.

GALXF (otc adr) if you're in US.

Last I checked, it's the only pure-play lithium miner that is producing and delivering.

I think ALB is on a low now after a drop ( after multiple gains), since the Sodium news.

Also, they are one of the better ones concerning revenue.

Any equity index fund has some exposure to lithium, and will likely give you higher returns with no work on your part.

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