() New York – With Labor Day signaling an end to summer trading, the heat taken by investors was almost unbearable.  With the dog days of August trading behind us investors are looking for some solid gains in the third quarter, though the words ‘slow recovery’ still ring true.

In Alan Ableson’s “Up and Down Wallstreet” column on Barron’s he noted that the fundamentalists got it all wrong, that investors couldn’t count on charting and earnings estimates to find a solid stock worth investing in.  But perhaps the real issue is individual investors are still sitting on the sidelines, unsure of the direction of the economy before they plunk down their greenbacks in any stocks.

Waiting is a virtue when it comes to investing, but I have to admit that waiting is getting old and many individuals are itching to get it on the game and generate some returns for their hard-earned cash.

Trading volume on the Big Board hasn’t been anything to measure as to investor interest or participation and the Nasdaq National Market Index isn’t proving any different as the bulk of the trading volume seen recently is computer trading.  But trading for individuals isn’t what it used to be since FINRA took over and many of the smaller, regional firms just went out of business.  Today its all about forms and ‘who are you’ requests from online brokerage firms where your only contact is your keyboard.  So its no wonder individual investors can’t be found.  But don’t worry – they’re still there.

Jobs, a shaky, slow to recover economy and the collapse of housing has stripped the zeal from investors’ heels of late, but the safe havens of money market accounts and real estate aren’t giving investors any comfort either.  Interest rates are so low you might be better off stuffing those bills under your mattress and where investors might otherwise have shrugged off a down market for real estate, they can’t find any comfort there either.

One thing’s for sure, dividend investors are finding it harder to get bargains in those stocks and the strain of the economy is threatening those returns.  With a doubtful administration in Washington that’s been at odds with Wall Street investors aren’t to sure on what to expect out of the President, let alone the Federal Reserve or SEC.  Even bonds are considered edgy these days as many municipalities are once again at risk of downgrades as are States, who’s own budget deficits are making it difficult for lawmakers to come to terms with budget-cutting ideas tabled in their legislative get togethers.

Safe-haven investors are sitting pretty securely in precious metals with gold prices showing a solid $1200 market floor at this juncture, yet even if bullion prices push higher, which pundits say is likely in September, the gains may not be enough to sustain $1300 gold – if it reaches more than a market peak late this month.

Gold stocks on the other hand could be the answer, yet finding the right one is the trick.  Major producers played an M&A game and are now looking for others to gobble up, the junior stocks are having a field day and while Canada’s mining-savvy investment banking community looks to fuel a select group with fresh capital, the exploration and development sector will only have a gem or two in its midst.  Finding the gold stock that’s making the leap from exploration and development to producer could be the key and while there are some junior gold stocks preparing to do just that, the gamble lies in which country as some are more stable than others.

If you haven’t got a bug for gold stocks, you might look to the green stock sector and pick a group of juniors that operate in growing domestic markets you can understand.  While growth amongst these junior stocks may be slow, due to capital limitations or niche, a few are worth exploring – but which ones are something you’ll have to decide.

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Tags: Investors, Investors Gone