Sneak Preview: The Must-Own Sector

Editor's note: This is a special sneak preview of Jim Cramer's just-released book, Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer). Look for more sneak previews every day, and get your free copy with your annual subscription to Action Alerts PLUS; click here for details. Catch Cramer in person at his last book signing event: Saturday, Jan. 12, at 1 p.m. in Westbury, Long Island's Costco.

Missed the first sneak previews? Read the book intro and the rules of getting and staying rich: Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3, Rule 4 and Rule 5. Know what pros do right and amateurs do wrong: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. Learn the five mini-bull markets that will stampede for years, starting with aerospace and defense, agriculture, oil and oil service, minerals and mining and infrastructure.

Oil and Oil Service

We are running out of oil, yet it will still be our fuel of choice for at least the next twenty-five years. We aren't producing enough renewable energy to satisfy demand. We are trying to expand nuclear energy, but the power plants are expensive and, in this country, still considered too dangerous and difficult to build. (As someone who for a spell lived next door to a power plant in Sacramento, I find this outlook odd, but then again, who else would willingly live next to one of those scary cooling towers!) Coal is just not attractive anymore, and the technology to make coal clean is costly. That keeps sending us back to black gold, and it is something that a whole host of companies benefits from.

When we speak of oil we think of the majors, the Exxons(XOM Quote) and Chevrons(CVX Quote) and Conocos(COP Quote). These are giant companies that produce stable cash flows and dividends; they are and will remain great investments for years and years.

But, as in any mini- bull market, there are tons of other stock subsectors that will do great because they are involved in energy. We don't have enough refiners, which means that Valero(VLO Quote) and Marathon(MRO Quote) (which also has substantial oil properties) are going to be buys whenever they come down in price.

Cramer: How to Avoid Being Poor