Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. #1
    ScrapHunter started this thread.
    ScrapHunter's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    35
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 17 Times in 6 Posts

    What are your thoughts about investing in paper contracts?

    I don't recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper contracts. These are not for the inexperienced. They are NOT physical metal & I fear one day the imaginary metal may go up in smoke. But I have an old friend who swears by investing in metals by examining ratios. Like how many pounds of aluminum buys a pound of copper. When the ratio is high, he buys the cheaper metal, when the ratio is low he buys the expensive metal. He's a lot smarter than I am. Wondering what people here think about futures.

    ...


  2. #2
    Filthy's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Northern New Jersey
    Posts
    780
    Thanks
    850
    Thanked 372 Times in 202 Posts
    this is an interesting concept.
    We're the renegades of Junk!

  3. #3
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    62
    Thanks
    26
    Thanked 14 Times in 9 Posts
    what is considered a high ratio and a low ratio? 6:1 , 5:1 on the high side ? 4:1 on the low ? please tell us a little more.

  4. #4
    Mick's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Palermo, Me
    Posts
    3,405
    Thanks
    363
    Thanked 3,086 Times in 1,326 Posts
    My opinion is to only use money you can afford to lose.
    People may laugh at me, but that's ok. I laugh all the way to the bank.

  5. The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by Mick:


  6. #5
    ScrapHunter started this thread.
    ScrapHunter's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    35
    Thanks
    14
    Thanked 17 Times in 6 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by irondale View Post
    what is considered a high ratio and a low ratio? 6:1 , 5:1 on the high side ? 4:1 on the low ? please tell us a little more.
    Not sure what a good ratio would be but the idea is to think about investments not in dollar amounts but in the amount of metal owned. If the copper/aluminum ratio was 6:1, you could sell a pound of copper and buy 6 pounds of aluminum. If the ratio went down to 4:1, you need only 4 pounds of aluminum to get that pound of copper back. I'm sure it's not that simple. I haven't seen ratio charts other than gold/silver but kitco.com has 5 year price charts for most metals. Looking at the charts, copper is worth more than it was 5 years ago and aluminum is worth less, so the ratio is higher than it was in Dec. 06. Like I said, I wouldn't invest in futures because they're not physical metals.


  7. Similar threads on the Scrap Metal Forum

    1. Contracts
      By Libertytow in forum General - Let's talk business
      Replies: 25
      Last Post: 09-13-2012, 06:49 PM
    2. Scrapping paper
      By BurlyGuys in forum Non Metal Recycling
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 08-20-2012, 06:30 AM
    3. Contracts
      By GeorgeB in forum General - Let's talk business
      Replies: 31
      Last Post: 01-07-2012, 10:41 AM
    4. Question on Contracts
      By LadyScrappers in forum General - Let's talk business
      Replies: 15
      Last Post: 12-15-2011, 09:30 PM
    5. DoD scrap contracts
      By fnord in forum A Day in the Life of a Scrapper
      Replies: 9
      Last Post: 07-01-2011, 04:06 PM

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook