Aside from gold, the other stealth bull market that will extend through 2004 is commodities. The little weasel Jim Rogers (of Quantum Hedge Fund/Adventure Capitalist fame) is dead on in this regard.
Two ways to play this that I like (both conservative) are: BHP and RSNRX. BHP Billiton is an Australian multi-commodity firm with a 28 billion dollar market cap that is a major commodity supplier to China. RSNRX (RS Global Natural Resources) is an eclectic fund which does NOT overload on energy & oil stocks; rather, it diversifies into things such as timber, precious mnetals and nonferrous metals. It has much less volatility than other funds in this sector but has had a slow steady rise over the past 5 years (10% annualized return).
Obviously, one can make much larger gains with the microcap stocks such as Ivanhoe or by speculating in the individual commodities markets. However, these suggestions are for those who want core portfolio exposure to commodities.