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VANCOUVER - With the price of crude at its peak, followed by rising gasoline costs, many investors are wondering how they too can start pocketing some oil profits from their investmeents.

Money managers say it's not too late to jump on the oil and gas bandwagon, particularly if you are selective about which stocks to buy.

One tip is to invest in oil producers whose pricing isn't hedged, but instead tied to spot prices (which surpassed US$123 this week).

Those companies may include intermediates such as ProEx Energy Ltd. and Storm Exploration and large caps such as Husky Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Ltd. and Petro-Canada).

Joanne Hruska, vice-president of portfolio management at Aston Hill Financial in Calgary, said hedging is sometimes a good move, but with the recent surge in oil prices some companies have seen the strategy backfire.

Major natural gas producer and oilsands operator EnCana Corp. reported a first-quarter hedging loss of $737 million after tax after being committed by contracts to sell about 40 per cent of its natural gas output at predetermined prices. That prevented it from taking full advantage of higher spot gas prices in the energy market.

"A lot of people have hedges, so please Mr. and Mrs. Layman investor, look for sources of hedging or ask your famous portfolio managers," said Hruska, who bought EnCana shares after that loss was reported. She believes the stock is a good buy today for other reasons, including the turnaround in natural gas prices.

Another way to benefit from the rising price of oil is to consider companies such as Enbridge Inc and TransCanada Corp. who build the pipes to carry the crude.

And while refiners and integrated companies may be getting squeezed by oil's surge, experts say don't rule them out either, especially if you are a long-term investor willing to wait things out.