As the year comes to a close, I like to look back and examine some of the things I did right, and wrong, this year.  The most glaring wrong this year has to do with a stock and a missed opportunity.

I dabble in stocks, but tend to be very conservative because, like electricity, I don’t really understand them.  I won’t go into how I try to have a balanced portfolio, but I will say that I generally stick with companies and industries I understand.  One opportunity that I’ve been paying attention to is this whole “green” movement that has been kicking up dust.  In particular, I can see that solar power for the average home is a growth opportunity due to falling prices of solar panels and the fact that local municipalities are giving tax breaks to homeowners who install solar power, and even the power companies are letting homeowners “sell” their unused solar power back on to the grid.  I figured this would be a good time to invest in a company that made solar panels.  But this is where my confidence ended.

My basic problem is that I know nothing about solar power and the different technologies out there.  So I did some research, and actually came up with a company that might be a good investment: First Solar.  The fact that Jim Kramer liked them as well helped boost my confidence, but not enough for me to actually purchase any stock.

The problem with investing in a solar power company is that it is a relatively new technology that is just now hitting the mainstream.  Sure solar power has been around for a very long time, but it’s generally been a novelty or a power source for a very small item, like a parking meter.  It’s never really made the penetration into the general public like it’s starting to now.  This mainstream penetration is good for investors, as well as startups, and herein lies the rub.  Whenever a new technology hits the mainstream, the improvements to it happen in leaps and bounds because of all the opportunities, as well as the public’s demand.  In general terms, the same thing happened with digital cameras.

I was scared and didn’t invest in First Solar because all it takes is for one company to come up with something new, and First Solar’s advances would be old technology overnight.  So I missed an opportunity because I wasn’t brave enough to take the plunge.

Let’s look at the numbers:
In March, First Solar was trading at about $55.  It’s now trading at about $270.  That’s a 490% increase!  If I had conservatively invested $500 in it, and sold it today, that $500 would be worth $2,454.  So what did I invest that $500 in and how did it do?  Well, I won’t say what I invested in, but I will say that I’m up 17% for that same period.  There’s a lot that $85 can buy, but it’s nothing compared to $2,454.  If I were playing Wheel of Fortune, the $85 would get me nothing but a Service Merchandise gift certificate.