Major environmental concerns. Oil, gas and coal companies are notorious for products that emit greenhouse gases, which worsen global warming. They also have other potential environmental issues, like oil spills. Not only is this an ethical concern, it also makes energy companies vulnerable to costly lawsuits, which can hurt your returns.
A volatile market. Energy prices can swing widely and rapidly, depending on the state of the global economy. For example, over the past 10 years the price of crude oil has gone from as high as nearly $110 a barrel to as low as less than $20 a barrel at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The value of energy stocks tends to track energy prices, making these investments more volatile and potentially riskier than stocks in other sectors.
Companies need to make big investments. It takes considerable resources to explore new sources of energy, like drilling for new oil wells, not to…
