Green Investing

ECO Green "Picks and Shovels"

2007-12-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

The "Picks and Shovels" companies helping to build other Green ecology technologies

Wind power turbines, solar panels, and technology used in the production of biofuels from biomass.
List of Eco "Picks and Shovels" symbols : AMSC,BWEN.OB,COMV,EMKR,ENER,ENOC,FTEK,IRF,ORA,VRNM,ZOLT

&amp;lt;a href="http://finance.yahoo.com"&amp;gt;Yahoo! Finance&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=AMSC"&amp;gt;Quote for AMSC&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

These ECO Green companies are supplying the component parts or the "picks and shovels" helping to build other Green technologies such as wind power turbines, solar panels, and enzymes used in the production of biofuels from biomass. Their business model/products are often diversified working in numerous sectors. Such companies can be great growth candidates based on their niche products "everyone" uses and profits from their patent portfolios which pay royalties increasing share holder value.

Some notable mentions here are:

American Superconductor AMSC profile Makes products to increase electrical grid capacity and reliability; supplies electrical systems used in wind turbines; sells power electronic products that regulate wind farm voltage to enable their interconnection to the power grid.

EMCORE Corp.EMKR profile solar products, including compound semiconductor-based gallium arsenide solar cells and CPV components for use in solar power concentrator systems.

Energy Conversion Devices ENER profile Manufactures flexible thin-film solar photovoltaic modules, NiMH materials and batteries used in Hybrid cars. Has huge patent portfolio and licenses it's technology to many companies.

Verenium Corporation VRNM profile Engages in the development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, a renewable transportation fuel, as well as high-performance specialty enzymes for biofuels production.

Zoltek Inc. ZOLT profile Zoltek develops, manufactures, and markets carbon fibers used in wind power turbines.

6/27/08 - Wind power has new offerings for investment, 2 new ETF's FAN and PWND.
Other "wind exposure" stocks are KDN,AMSC,TRN,GE, OTTR . Wind is a global play, to prove this point see this wind index GWE and EXCELLENT list of stocks

ECO FRIENDLY MUTUAL FUNDS

2007-12-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

Green eco friendly mutual funds research, description and combined list. 5/08 add ALTEX a new solar mutual fund to the list.

Eco-friendly mutual funds can provide green investment diversification, a simple way to own some of the leading individual solar, wind, biofuels and green consumer stocks discussed on this site. You can also gain exposure to great ECO focused companies based in Europe like wind power leader Vestas.

Simplify your due diligence research as we examine the major component company holdings in these leading ECO mutual fund portfolios. They are not created equal and vary significantly.

These funds break down into 2 classes of SRI (socially responsible investing) funds. Some funds actually invest in the companies producing ECO Green technologies, like wind, solar and biofuels, many others are simply investing in companies that promote sustainability and ECO Green values through their operations. This distinction can be HUGE in terms of your ECO investment philosophy. It is a positive when Microsoft and IBM adopt sustainability, but would you rather invest directly in solar, wind and biofuels?

The financial media works itself into a froth over ECO Green investment, but rarely makes the distinction of actual Green vs. adoption Green.

Five mutual funds that invest directly in ECO green technology producers :
Symbols : GAAEX, NALFX, PORTX, CGAEX, WGGFX

For quote list of these 5 mutual funds that rise to the top based on ECO friendly approach:
click here

You may aslo consider these ETF's with similar holdings :
For the list of ECO ETF's that rise to the top based on ECO friendly approach:
click here

Alphabetical list of all ECO Green mutual funds by symbol :

CAAPX Ariel Mutual Funds. SRI company selection screen. Portfolio companies adopt green policies vs. producing actual green ECO products or services.

CGAEX Calvert Global Alternative Energy. Good exposure to many ECO Green leading companies. Largest holdings are wind and solar, 64% of the fund.

GAAEX Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy. Fund weighted to actual wind and solar companies.

GCBLX Green Century Balanced. GCEQX Green Century Equity. Investing in companies they believe are leading the way toward a greener future. SRI component.

NALFX New Alternatives Fund. Began operations in September 1982. Good exposure to many ECO Green leading companies.

NBSRX Neuberger Berman Socially Resp Investment. SRI focus. Tough website to navigate.

PAXWX Pax World Balanced. SRI focus. Pax World was founded in in 1971. Launched the first publicly available, socially responsible mutual fund.

PORTX Portfolio 21 Fund. Portfolio 21 invests in companies designing ecologically superior products, using renewable energy, and developing efficient production methods. Click here for in-depth analysis of PORTX

SCFSX Sierra Club Stock Fund. Broad SRI focus.

SPEGX Spectra Fund. Fund investing at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies conduct their business in an environmentally sustainable manner.

WGGFX Winslow Green Growth. Portfolio weighted toward green building products, sustainable living and clean energy.

GREEN ETF's : EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

2007-12-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

Green eco friendly ETF's research, description and combined list.
Note, May08 see the launch of 2 new! solar etf's TAN and KWT.

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for DSI

These ECO Green friendly ETF's hold a basket of stocks just as mutual funds do. ETF's trade during all market exchange hours. ETF's have better liquidity and may have fee advantages over mutual funds. This list includes ECO Green choices and some with a more broad Socially Responsible Investing(SRI) component. ETFs are sector focused, most of these are focused on alternative energy stocks.

ETF symbols : DSI,CGW,EVX,GEX,GRN,KLD,PBW,PIO,PUW,PZD

DSI iShares KLD 400 Social Index. Seeks investment results that correspond to the performance of the Domini 400 SocialSM underlying index.

CGW Claymore S&P Global Water. Seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the S&P Global Water index.

EVX Mkt Vectors Environmental Services ETF. Seeks to replicate the performance of the AMEX Environmental Services Index.

GEX Mkt Vectors Global Alternative Energy. Seeks to replicate the performance of the Ardour Global Index. 30% of assets in securities of non-US companies. Companies primarily engaged in the generation of power through environmentally friendly sources.

GRN Claymore/LGA Green. Seeks to track the performance of the Light Green Eco Index. Broad SRI.

KLD iShares KLD Select Social Index. Seeks results that correspond to performance of the KLD Select SocialSM index.

PBW PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy. Seeks results that correspond to the WilderHill Clean Energy index.

PIO PowerShares Global Water. Seeks results that correspond to performance of the Palisades Global Water Index.

PUW PowerShares WilderHill Prog Energy. Seeks results that correspond to the WilderHill Progressive Energy Index.

PZD PowerShares Cleantech. Seeks results that correspond to the performance of the Cleantech Index.

TAN Claymore/MAC Global.
Made up of 25 global solar companies.

ECO Consumer Sector

2007-12-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

ETHICAL CONSUMERISM is on the rise. Sales have reached tens of billions of dollars. Business is thinking about the retail consumer by providing Green consumer product choices.
These companies are involved in the production or sale of products that promote Green values, sustainability and have management that are setting trends in this area.

List of Eco Green consumer stocks : GAIA,CMG,GMCR,HAIN,IFSIA,MLHR,UNFI,WFMI

&amp;lt;a href="http://finance.yahoo.com"&amp;gt;Yahoo! Finance&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GAIA"&amp;gt;Quote for GAIA&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Ethanol, Bio Diesel Mutual Funds and Stocks : Bio Fuels

2007-12-12T14:06:00.000-08:00

Consider every modern and historical military conflict. Most are about resources. These companies are involved in the production of biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel, from biomass. Energy production here at home.
My investing jury is still out on the viability of ethanol production from corn due to a number of factors such as creating huge dead zones in water bodies from fertilizer runoff. Research shows that prairie grasses(cellulosic ethanol) grown using only moderate amounts of fertilizer on marginal land can produce 300 gals. per acre vs. 350 for corn. Cellulosic ethanol is a Greener process.
As the price of petroleum has risen 6 fold since 2000, investment capital has been flowing into biofuels research driving innovation. New technologies mean increased efficiency in production and cleaner fuels.
Growing seed crops such as soybeans typically yields 100 gallons of biodiesel per acre under cultivation. A very promising technology is the production of oil from algae with yields of 10,000 gallons per acre under cultivation. Yes, 10,000! Also promising and in growing use are anaerobic digesters, machines that capture methane from on-site wates to produce energy.

Stock symbols for these biofuels companies:

ADM,ANDE,AVR,GPRE,IPSU,MGPI,PEIX,STKL,VRNM,VSE

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for ADM

Eco Friendly the Mutual Award. 20 Sustainability Companies

2007-12-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

All these companies are held in several Green eco-friendly mutual funds discussed in the ECO MUTUAL FUNDS section of this site.

The 2007 list of companies honors those integrating sustainable practices into their business models and others whose products promote sustainability principles like wind and solar. I rate Vestas as #1, a producer of wind power generation products. COMV and FTEK tie for a close second. Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR) and Interface (Nasdaq: IFSIA) come in third and should be commended for embracing sustainability principles over 10 years ago.

The twenty international companies that made the cut in 2007 are:
(also the stock market they are traded on, stock symbol and headquarters of company)

Best Water Technology (Vienna: BWT.VI) (Austria);
Canon (NYSE: CAJ) (Japan);
Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) (USA);
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) (USA);
First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) (USA);
Fuel Tech (Nasdaq: FTEK) (USA);
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) (USA);
Groupe Danone (Paris: DN.PA) (France);
Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR) (USA);
Interface (Nasdaq: IFSIA) (USA);
Land Securities (London: Land.L) (UK);
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) (USA);
Novozymes (Copenhagen: NZYM.CO) (Denmark);
Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) (USA);
Precious Woods (Geneva: SWX: PRWN) (Switzerland);
Renewable Energy Corp - REC (Oslo: REC.OL) (Norway);
Royal Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) (Netherlands);
Schmack Biogas AG (Frankfurt: SB1) (Germany);
Vestas (Wind Power) (Copenhagen: VWS.CO) (Denmark);
Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI) (USA).

This year Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) received Honorable Mention.

Solar Energy Stocks : Photovoltaics

2007-12-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

In most latitudes, enough sun energy lands on the roof of an average home every day to power your car, home and more. Why the continued addiction to fossil fuels like oil and coal instead? One percent of the Sahara desert covered with solar panels would provide all the energy the world uses every day! Solution : the photovoltaic solar cell panel to produce clean carbon free energy.

These North American solar technology companies are leading the way.

Solar energy stocks listed here: CSIQ,ENER,ESLR,FSLR,HOKU,JASO,LDK,SOLF,SPWR

These Asia based solar technology companies are leading the way.

Chinese solar energy companies listed here : CSUN,JASO,LDK,SOL,SOLF,STP,YGE

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for CSIQ

Chinese Solar Company Stocks

2007-12-04T14:30:00.000-08:00

The manufacturing boom in Asia has benefited these solar companies in terms lower costs and competitive advantage. For purposes of analysis and discussion, they are separated here from the main solar stock list on this site. These companies have seen some of the greatest stock price appreciation and a wise investor will keep close track of their growth.

Chinese solar energy companies listed here : CSUN,JASO,LDK,SOL,SOLF,STP,YGE

Yahoo! Finance
Quote for STP

Ethical Mutual Fund Investing and Ethical Investments

2007-12-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and ethical investing are rapidly growing globally.

Every investor should know the selection criteria and framework for the classifying of ethical and Green investments. Over at Wikipedia there is a great page for reference and research Ethical_consumerism

For more SRI and ethical investment information also look here:

socialinvest.org
ethicalinvesting.com
coopamerica.org

PORTX Eco-Friendly Mutual Fund Analysis

2007-12-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

The PORTX fund is from the Green eco-friendly mutual funds list in the ECO MUTUAL FUNDS section of this site.

This screening selection critera used by the Porfolio21 fund (PORTX) can be applied to any of the ECO Green investments discussed on this site. The PORTX fund uses cooperatively developed standards creating their own proprietary framework to evaluate portfolio companies.

The PORTX selection framework is summarized below and the expanded criteria is linked.

Business Model
The company's business model is adapting to gain competitive advantages within ecological constraints...
Impact of Products/Services
The company understands the ecological impact of its products and/or services and has taken significant steps to reduce those impacts...
Investments
The company has demonstrated an environmental commitment through its investments...
Leadership
The company's management understands the magnitude of the ecological crisis and views environmental sustainability as a major business opportunity...
Environmental Management
The company's environmental management system helps identify and address environmental impacts and liabilities, develop action plans and procedures, and establish environmental accounting practices...
Resource Efficiency
The company is doing more with less by efficiently using and re-using resources...
Environmental Risks & Liabilities
Climate destabilization is among the greatest ecological risks we face, and the associated liabilities pose a threat to investors as well as the world...
Other Issues
Exclude companies with negative performance in the areas of employee relations, human rights, community involvement, or product safety, as well as those with significant business activities in nuclear energy, tobacco, gambling, or weapons.

Source: Portfolio21.com/in-depth selection criteria

Link to the complete list of Portfolio21 holdings

Go back to the Eco Mutual Fund page

Linear regression channel price chart for PORTX :

ETF List Summary

2007-12-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

This blog is about green investing, yet every investor should have this ETF list at hand

ETF List Summary

US Indexes
DIA Dow30 long
DOG Dow30 short
DDM Dow30 2x long
DXD Dow30 2x short

ONEQ Nasdaq
QQQQ Nasdaq100 long
PSQ Nasdaq100 short
QLD Nasdaq100 2x long
QID Nasdaq100 2x short

OEF SP100
IOO SP100 Global

SPY SP500 long
SH SP500 short
SSO SP500 2x long
SDS SP500 2x short
IVV SP500
IWV SP500 Growth
IVE SP500 Value

MDY SP400 long
MVV SP400 short
IJH SP400
MVV SP400 2x long
MZZ SP400 2x short
IJK SP400 Growth
IJJ SP400 Value

IJR SP600 long
SDD SP600 2x short
IJT SP600 Growth
IJS SP600 Value

IWB Russell1000
IWF Russell1000 Growth
SFK Russell1000 Growth 2x short
IWD Russell1000 Value
SJF Russell1000 Value 2x short
BGU Russell1000 3x long
BGZ Russell1000 3x short
TYH Russell 1000 technology 3x long
TYP Russell 1000 technology 3x short

IWM Russell2000 long
RWM Russell2000 short
UWM Russell2000 2x long
TWM Russell2000 2x short
TNA Russell2000 3x long
TZA Russell2000 3x short
IWO Russell2000 Growth
SKK Russell2000 Growth 2x short
IWN Russell2000 Value
SJH Russell2000 Value 2x short

IWV Russell3000
IWZ Russell3000 Growth
IWW Russell3000 Value

IWC Russell MicroCap
IWR Russell MidCap
MWJ Russell Midcap 3x long
MWN Russell Midcap 3x short
IWP Russell MidCap Growth
SDK Russell MidCap Growth 2x short
IWS Russell MidCap Value
SJL Russell MidCap Value 2x short

VTI Vanguard Total Market
VUG Vanguard Growth
VTV Vanguard Value
VV Vanguard Large Cap
VO Vanguard MidCap
VB Vanguard SmallCap
VBK Vanguard SmallCap Growth
VBR Vanguard SmallCap Value

PWB Dynamic Large Cap
PWJ Dynamic MidCap Growth
DVY Dow Select Dividend
RSP Rydex SP Equal Weight

Word Indexes
EWA Australia
EWO Austria
EWK Belgium
EWZ Brazil
BIK BRIC 40
EWC Canada
FXI China
GXC China
PGJ China
CHN China
FXP China 2x short
EEB BRIC
EWQ France
EWG Germany
EWH Hong Kong
INP India
IFN India
EWI Italy
EWJ Japan
EWV Japan 2x short
EWM Malaysia
EWW Mexico
RSX Russia
EWS Singapore
EZA South Africa
EWY South Korea
EWP Spain
EWD Sweden
EWL Switzerland
EWT Taiwan
EWU United Kingdom

ILF Latin American 40
EPP Pacific ex-Japan
VGK European
FEZ Euro STOXX 50
IEV Europe 350
VEA Europe Pacific
VEU All World ex-USA
VPL Pacific
IOO Global 100

DZK Developed Markets 3x long
DPK Developed Markets 3x short

EEM Emerging Markets
VWO Emerging Markets
EDC Emerging Markets 3x long
EDZ Emerging Markets 3x short
ADRE Emerging Markets 50
EUM Emerging Markets short
EEV Emerging Markets 2x short
PID Int'l Dividend Achievers

Commodities
XLB Materials
IYM Basic Materials
UYM Basic Materials 2x long
SMN Basic Materials 2x short
GSG Commodities
RJI Commodities
DBC Commodities
RJA Commodities - Ag
DBA Commodities - Ag
UCD Commodities 2x long
CMD Commodities 2x short

GDX Gold
GLD Gold
IAU Gold
DGP Gold 2x long
UGL Gold 2x long
DZZ Gold 2x short
GLL Gold 2x short

SLV Silver
AGQ Silver 2x long
ZSL Silver 2x short

XME Metals & Mining
IGE Natural Resources
SLX Steel
KOL Coal
DBB Base Metals

PHO Water Resources
CGW Claymore SP Global Water
TAN Solar Energy
GEX Alternative Energy
IYE Energy
XLE Energy
OIH Oil Services
XOP Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
DIG Oil & Gas 2x long
DUG Oil & Gas 2x short
USO United States Oil
IEO US Oil & Gas
UNG United States Natural Gas
OIL Crude Oil long
DXO Crude Oil 2x long
UCO Crude Oil 2x long
SCO Crude Oil 2x short
DTO Crude Oil 2x short
ERX Russell1000 Energy 3x long
ERY Russell1000 Energy 3x short

US Sectors
PPA Aerospace & Defense
KBE Banks
IAT Banks, Regional
KRE Banks, Regional
RKH Banks, Regional
BBH Biotech
XBI Biotech
BDH Broadband
IAI Broker-Dealers
KCE Capital Markets
PBW Clean Energy
XLY Consumer Discretionary
SZK Consumer Goods 2x short
IYC Consumer Services
SCC Consumer Services 2x short
XLP Consumer Staples
IYG Financial Services
IYF Financials
VFH Financials
XLF Financials
UYG Financials 2x long
SKF Financials 2x short
FAS Russell1000 Financials 3x long
FAZ Russell1000 Financials 3x short
MOO Global Agribusiness
XLV Health Care
RXD Health Care 2x short
IHF Healthcare Provider
ITB Home Construction
XHB Home Construction
XLI Industrials
SIJ Industrials 2x short
VGT Information Technology
KIE Insurance
HHH Internet
IAH Internet Architecture
IBB Nasdaq Biotech
IGN Networking
PPH Pharmaceutical
IYR Real Estate
RWX Real Estate
URE Real Estate 2x long
SRS Real Estate 2x short
ICF Realty Majors
RWR REIT
VNQ REIT
RTH Retail
XRT Retail
IGW Semiconductors
SMH Semiconductors
USD Semiconductors 2x long
SSG Semiconductors 2x short
IGV Software
SWH Software
IGM Technology
IYW Technology
XLK Technology
REW Technology 2x short
IYZ Telecom
TTH Telecom
IYT Transports
UTH Utilities
XLU Utilities
SDP Utilities 2x short

Currencies
FXA Australian Dollar
FXB British Pound Sterling
FXC Canadian Dollar
FXE Euro
FXY Japanese Yen
FXM Mexican Peso
FXS Swedish Krona
FXF Swiss Franc
UUPUS Dollar long
UDN US Dollar short
ULE Euro 2x long
EUO Euro 2x short
YCL Yen 2x long
YCS Yen 2x short

Fixed Income
AGG Aggregate Bond
BND Total Bond Market
BWX Intl Treasury Bond
IEF Lehman 7-10 Year Treasury
LQD Invest Grade Corp Bond
JNK Lehman High Yield Bond
HYG High Yield Corporate Bond
SHY 1-3 Year Treasury Bond
TIP TIPS Bond
TLT 20+ Year Treasury Bond
TBT 20+ Year Treasury Bond 2x short

Fibonacci Levels. Visual Chart Example.

2007-12-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

If you manage your own portfolio of investments, Fibonacci analysis of price support, resistance and retracement levels is a vital tool to learn. Most interactive charting apps have an auto draw tool. The simple underlying math (addition, subtraction, division) can be applied to most natural systems.

Until I get this section built, go to the link below and discover the universal power of application. Good reading and fascinating!

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/technical/04/033104.asp

Under construction. More coming soon.

The Importance of an Index : Green Technology

2007-12-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Indexes allow sight of the big picture, preventing tunnel vision and overall sector trend.
Go to Yahoo Finance, input this symbol ^NEX (with the tilda) until I set up the data feed.
Green, sustainability, technology index(s) content coming.

&amp;lt;a href="http://finance.yahoo.com"&amp;gt;Yahoo! Finance&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^NEX"&amp;gt;Quote for ^NEX&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Stockcharts.com and Prophet.net : Free tracking and analysis

2007-12-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

FYI : In terms of reducing information overload, I look for sites that present stock information and charts in a intuitive format with everything needed for analysis in one portal.

Over at stockcharts.com explore the tools menu and let others do the heavy lifting for you, especially in the public charts lists where the technical wizards offer much free content.

Over at Prophet.net I find the trend analysis tools very helpful, especially the linear regression channel tool which is drawn using the technical studies tool box.