Natural gas is down 25% from Jan. 18, and I had thought that was a good time to start a trust portfolio, given the NG price decline to that point. NG is down 57% from the December high. Whew. At some point, and this is a huge question for me, NG (and crude oil) will put in price bottoms. NG may be near a bottom, at least in terms of price, since it's down so far. I'm watching crude oil. IMO it could go well down into the $50s if not even into the $40s.
ARC is top quality and it shows. I give it a 10 for security.
Calpine is doing fine. Power isn't as volatile in price as oil & NG. Some of the fear discount in price due to parent company Calpine (painted with the Enron brush somewhat) has come out.
Canetic and Harvest are big, solid trusts. Very good buys when oil bottoms.
Daylight is a newer trust, paying almost 15% in dividends, but it's not paying out too much of its free cash so I think this will be a big moneymaker in the long run for shareholders.
Esprit isn't down all that much considering its big weighting to natural gas. I'm not worried about the dividend right now, and when NG bottoms this is one to get.
NAL is top-quality also. Conservative management. I give it a 9 for security. My biggest position, personally.
NAV -- taking a pretty good hit in share price. This was the last one to cut dividends and looks to me like the market may be fearing another. Not me. Almost 14% dividend. Good one to buy when NG & Oil bottom.
Peyto has the lowest costs and highest netback. Grows by the drillbit rather than by purchasing production and diluting share value. I bought some more on the spike low two weeks ago, and we may have had another spike low today, at higher levels. Here too, at such time as I think NG is bottoming I'll buy more Peyto.
I'm guessing Shiningbank is in trouble. Dividend was 23 cents per share, monthly, since June 2003, then went to 30 cents last Nov. when NG averaged about $12. Now NG is below $7. Shiningbank was paying out about 80% of free cash in dividends before, and I don't see how it can be maintained with NG down so far. Stock is down $5 since mid-Jan, and down almost $8 from the high last December. A dividend cut would boot another $2 to $4 off the share price, IMO. If it gaps down like that, I'd buy some. If NG bottoms, I'd buy some. This has been a great trust, returning almost 30% per year in dividends and share price appreciation since its beginning.
Thunder -- good grief, almost 18% dividend now. I wonder if the payouts can be maintained even though the stated purpose of the trust is to provide consistent dividends. 2005 results were decent and as far as I can tell the outlook is good, though the market may not agree. I know the least about Thunder. The NG price is a big factor here.
Best,
Doug
Nice to see different opinions that lead to the same outcome over time. 
