Chris Nelder: An Autodidactic Energy Expert

Chris Nelder is your go-to guy when it comes to energy.  With almost a decade of extensive research under his belt, Chris’ knowledge and passion in energy cannot be topped by many.  What’s really interesting about Chris though, is that he has quite an unique background.  Describing himself as an autodidactic polymath, he’s held a hundred different jobs in the past and is on his 5th career now.  With education in English, psychology, and computer science, he’s been involved as a technical writer, a software engineer, a book publisher, an entrepreneur, a blogger, and now an energy expert writing articles for Energy and Capital. Now try topping that background!

Now not only does he have an unique background, his credentials are notable: over 1400 followers on Twitter (@nelderini), one of the “top data junkies” on NASDAQ/StockTwits, an editor at Energy and Capital, a blogger for almost a decade (www.getreallist.com), an author of the book (Profit from the Peak), a guest speaker at various universities, and the list goes on.

I recently had a chance to chat with him over the phone.  Within an hour of our conversation, I could tell that he’s a really smart guy and is clearly passionate about energy.  So, without further ado, I present to you Chris Nelder.

“So Chris, you really have quite an unique background and a career history.  With an education in English/Psychology/Computer Science, you’ve worn many hats in the past: a technical writer, a software engineer, a publisher, an entrepreneur, and now a blogger/journalist and an energy analyst.  I looked up ‘How to become an energy analyst’ on eHow, but it wasn’t quite the path you’ve taken.  Can you tell us a bit on your career path? Why the changes?”

I call myself an autodidactic polymath because I do bounce around from one thing to another.   I’ve had 100 different jobs in the past and roughly on my 5^th career now.  I’m very curious about the world, and I like to tackle good challenges that are interesting and in hot areas, which brought me to where I am today.

I really began studying energy after 9/11 even though I’ve always been curious about it.  Even in my days as a software engineer, I had a subscription to Home Power magazine for years, which is a magazine that focuses on, not surprisingly, home power including solar systems, micro-hydro systems, wind systems, and even the macro industry topics.

After 9/11, I started doing more research trying to find out as much as I could on who the Taliban are and why they attacked us, which led me to the topic of peak oil.  With the topic of peak oil triggering a bigger interest, I launched my study on energy, which is now going into the 8^th year.

As I dug deeper into this rat hole, probably around 5 years into it, I realized “You know, I know enough about this stuff now, I really ought to be trading energy.”  Then I happened to find a company that publishes investing newsletters and decided to start writing for them.

“So you’ve pretty much built yourself a career by pursuing your interest and teaching yourself the topic of energy and becoming the expert.”

Right. By then I’d had hundreds of articles on my blog about energy and peak oil available to see if they would be interested in me and my writing.  And they were.

“So is this your main job now? Writing for Energy and Capital?”

Yea that’s pretty much my main gig now.  I do speaking engagements and various kinds of consulting on the side, but that’s my main thing right now.

“Have you thought about going into something else lately? Anything new and exciting coming up?”

Yea I have thought about that.  The solar business is probably the first one I would go back to since it’s still very much right in the middle of what I’m interested in.  Now unfortunately, it’s kind of a difficult business, which is part of the reason why I left the industry.

The software engineering, I probably wouldn’t go back to.  I got tired of it.  I was in the software industry for 17 years and I’ve done everything you can do in software except marketing.  I was a tester, I was a technical writer, I was an engineer, I was a director of product development, I was a director of engineering, I started my own business…and by the time I got involved in energy and the solar business, I just wasn’t interested in it anymore.

“Of all of the hats you’ve worn before, which ones were most rewarding and fun? Would you say energy is one at the top?”

This is my favorite gig ever.  I have never enjoyed a career this much.  I’m absolutely on fire about it.  Every day, I can’t wait to get up and read more, write more and study more.  I’m absolutely, completely energized about the topic.

“I know investing is not your primary career, but I’m certain you engage in the market.  After all, you are one of the recommended twitters on StockTwits and a huge contributor to Energy and Capital.  What kind of investments do you make? Any particular sectors…like maybe energy? ”

Commodities are my main domain, particularly energy.  For the most part, I don’t really pay attention to rest of the sectors unless they overlap with commodities.  For example, I had to learn more about finance in the past year due to the recent collapse of the financial world, which inevitably impacted the commodity prices significantly.  So I reach out to other domains to the extent that’s required for my field.

Now, I don’t pay any attention to the tech industry.  I don’t care about it and don’t want to care about it, except I continuously try to recruit my friends from the tech industry to the energy industry.  I was able to convert a few smart people to the clean tech industry, but the energy industry needs all the smart people we can get.  We don’t need any more people in tech.

[Laughs]

“So what are your primary positions now as far as investments?”

I’m long natural gas and long agriculture but I currently do not have any position in oil.  I did recently publish my research and my stance on natural gas, so I think I was pretty clear as to why that would be a buy now.

“How do you go about making your trading decisions?”

I tend to look at the fundamental side of trading.  I’m not the technical analysis type, but I do consult with the better traders on Stocktwits who do use TA for an insight.  I then use their input to confirm my stance from the fundamental standpoint.  So most of the time, I try to look carefully into the data instead of relying on pundits out there.

As far as the trading style, I’m a swing trader even though I used to be more of a buy-and-hold trader before.  Now with this market falling apart, I do not feel safe being a buy-and-hold trader yet, so I try to be much more nimble about my trading now.

“So you mentioned about exchanging thoughts with the traders on StockTwits.  Can you name some of the traders you follow on StockTwits?”

TraderAlamo – My go-to guy for technical analysis.

MissTrade – He’s a very experienced guy and trust his judgments.

TradeFast – I haven’t seen him around too much recently but he’s one of the few I trust.

StockJockey – I think he’s a super smart guy and I tweet with him a lot.

UpsideTrader – He’s also my go-to guy.  He’s a really generous guy with his time, responding to our tweets and a terrific trader.  I love Joe—I call him the Yogi Berra of StockTwits.

GregorMacdonald – I met Gregor on StockTwits and though we don’t discuss trading very much, I chat with him frequently about peak oil and macro themes. We’re usually on the same page.

I think they’re all really good guys and obviously know how to trade.

” Wall Street has been rather crazy this past year.  Do you have any advice you can give to investors who are getting into this game?”

I think it’s important to follow the standard rules: don’t fly without a safety net (set your stops), choose your entry points carefully, don’t be a pig, and be nimble.  I don’t think I’ve held any stock more than a few months now because of this wacky market.

“Do you have any resources available to us that you use to help with your investment strategies and analysis?”

I read the Peak Oil News and Peak Oil Review regularly (written by Tom Whipple for ASPO-USA), as well as TheOilDrum, which offers a wealth of information and perspective on energy issues. Dave Cohen’s Peak Watch blog is a weekly must-read for me. Another good weekly is Jim Hansen’s Master Resource Report. I also check my Twitter feed continuously nearly every day—it’s a terrific source of news and insight.

“You have been a blogger for quite some time (since ’01).  What is it about blogging that keeps you going?  As a blogger myself, I’d love to get some insight”

I would have to say that what keeps me going is passion. I feel that humanity is at a critical crossroads on several different fronts, particularly energy, and I want to influence our thoughts and actions in productive directions as much as I can. Most people know very little about energy or about how serious the coming challenges are, and I consider it a personal duty to share what I have learned and try to help get people up to speed on the subject. But the benefits of blogging extend far beyond that. Through my writing I have made connections with all sorts of smart and interesting people, which has accelerated my own learning and vastly improved my trading skills. Sometimes I have to force myself to keep going, as all writers do from time to time, but for the most part, it’s passion in the driver’s seat.

Thank you Chris for your time and insight.  Now that I know where to find you, I’ll be sure to reach out whenever I have energy related questions.