RE:Opportunity CostGood post, Superfan, but for the benefit of newbies, you left a few things out.
Apart from built-in diversification and low fixed costs, streamers historically exhibit considerable leverage to the price of bullion (typically 2-3 times, and potentially much more in the kind of bull market we are likely to see in the next few years), exploration and expansion upside and acquisition growth potential, among other advantages. And the only reason SSL isn't paying a dividend yet like its larger "competitors" is that shareholders receive much more accretive value from reinvestment at this stage of the company's growth.
I started buying SSL 2-1/2 years ago and have continued buying ever since - without undue anxiety about the price - and I'm down a quite bearable 18% at last reckoning, not the 30-50% you suggested I should be. I consider this the "opportunity cost" of not being stuck in your Canadian Banks, Insurance Companies, Telecoms, Pipelines, REITs, etc. when the general stock market (next) collapses and precious metals revert to trend, if not well beyond it. That's something that anyone with eyes to see realizes is just a matter of time, and it can happen very suddenly and unexpectedly.
In retrospect, I could have made a profit (or increased my holding) by waiting to buy, or by trading in and out on the volatility, as many here have no doubt successfully done. But in the longer term, just buying and holding won't be a bad strategy either, especially if one gets caught trading out at the wrong time and is unable to recover their position. After all, many people buy SSL not just for return on investment, but as part of their overall PM insurance policy. To put it another way, the time to put your bathing suit on isn't after the tide goes out, but before you get in the water.