I felt totally comfortable with my position in the Uranium ETF – URA until I heard about the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. It was obvious from the start that one of the major issues was going to be cooling down their nuclear reactors without the benefit of electricity. Since I was out of town and didn’t have access to my trading account I wasn’t able to get out on that Friday. Monday and Tuesday were brutal as the reactor problems became magnified in the media as Japanese stocks plunged so did everyone involved in the uranium / nuclear industry. There is nothing like the sight of people in nuclear suits testing babies and children for radiation poisoning to get investors to exit their positions.


Since I was in during the plunge I decided to wait and accumulate a few additional shares instead of trying to cut my losses. After all, I’m viewing this as a buying opportunity similar to the oil spill sell off last year after the BP Oil Spill. After all, there is little doubt that despite the tension in Japan right now regarding their nuclear reactors this world needs nuclear power.

I noticed the largest company in the sector Cameco came under severe pressure and the smaller companies fell even harder. In the past I would’ve just bought Cameco in this situation but with the new Uranium ETF (URA) I’m able to purchase a basket of 23 industry leaders. Since I already owned some I simply increased my position once it had dropped nearly 1/3 in just a couple days. It’s possible that there will be more turbulence before this is over but overall I think it will end up being a great buy opportunity just like oil stocks in the summer of 2010.