Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Sprott Asset Management's Top Five Picks

"Sprott Asset Management, managed by the infamous precious metals bull Eric Sprott, is an investment advisory firm with an estimated $9.7 billion in assets under management. Sprott's fund has investments in a wide array of asset classes, and has about 8% of his capital invested in US equities, as noted by his $762 million 13F portfolio. Among Sprott's portfolio is a wide array of stocks in the basic materials sector, which comprises close to three-fourths of his total holdings. Here's a peek at the fund's 13F portfolio, but we're going to take an in-depth look at its top five stock holdings, due to the fact that his 13F returned over 36% last quarter...

First up on our list is First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG), which has returned 28.4% in 2012 thus far. With its headquarters in Canada, First Majestic explores for and produces silver in Mexico, focusing predominantly on four different mining sites. The largest mine in the company's possession is its La Encantada site, which accounts for over half of the company's total production.

Sprott currently owns over $64 million worth of First Majestic, good for 8.4% of his total 13F portfolio. A chief driver of the stock's growth this calendar year is a record level of production, in addition to a rare, community-first approach to silver mining. The company has gone beyond country-specific environmental regulations multiple times throughout its history, most recently at its La Parrilla mine to eliminate groundwater pollution..."

- Read the rest of the article at Insider Monkey, here: