Investing

While the focus may be on Greece an even bigger concern for the global economy may be the collapse of the Chinese stock market which has been a significant driver of the cleantech boom. China's stock market is the world’s second-largest outside the US, with a market capitalization of $6.9 trillion. So far Chinese equities have lost $3.2-trillion. Shares have declined in value by 30 percent since mid-June. Around 800 Chinese companies (one quarter of A listed companies) have halted trading in an effort to protect themselves from the worst stock market slide in China since 1992. This move has...

Responsible business practices pay dividends.  The value of this approach has been demonstrated in the areas of socially responsible investment (SRI) corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and sustainability. In fact, there are now years of research that show a strong correlation between responsible business practices and Performance. According to a 2015 Deutsche Bank study, high CSR and ESG scores are correlated with higher performance. A summary report from DB Climate Change advisers titled Sustainable Investing: Establishing Long-Term Value and Performance, found that sustainable firms have a lower cost of capital and provide lower levels of...

Renewable energy investments are attracting a lot of attention. Historically this has focused on hydro and off shore wind, however, solar PV is an increasingly important part of the mix as Individual, institutional and corporate investors look to diversify their renewable energy portfolios. Solar is particularly interesting when compared against volatility in the wind sector. According to Allianz wind can fluctuate by as much as 25 percent on a year on year basis while solar PV has an annual deviation of between 3 and 5 percent. Fueled in part by the fossil fuel divestment movement, investment in renewables in gaining...

There are a number of tools that make it easier to identify ethically questionable investments. A large and growing number of people, organizations and businesses want to divest from companies that are not socially or environmentally responsible. Responsible investing has augured pro-social change including pressure that helped to topple the racist regime in South Africa. Divesting from fossil fuels is commonly at the top of the list for responsible investors. This both avoids the risks associated with stranded assets and provides better returns than most fossil fuel investments. Investors know that we are sitting on a carbon bubble as fossil...

Renewable energy offers the kind of pricing predictability that is in everyone’s interest. While the price of oil has fluctuated, generally increasing over time, the price of renewable energy has shown fairly steady and consistent declines. A new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) indicates the costs of renewables will fall by almost 40 percent in the next two years, and solar energy should reach grid parity in 80 percent of its market by 2017. Oil's price volatility is an economic nightmare while the relative stability of renewable energy makes it far easier to plan capital allocation....

One of the salient themes that emerged at the 2015 edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is that investors are very interested in climate action. There have been a number of important developments during the course of the WEF but few are more important than the emerging trend of integrating climate risks into financial assessments. The risks and the opportunities posed by climate change are bottom-line issues. Low carbon energy investments are providing considerable returns. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, clean energy investment increased by 16 percent in 2014. The We Mean Business Coalition reports that companies are...

There are reasons to be bullish on clean energy stocks in 2015. Despite significant headwinds, clean energy has achieved so much momentum that it cannot be stopped, it will keep moving forward despite transitory impediments. Midway through the first month of January, many investors are not looking favorably at the prospects for clean energy stocks this year. They have suffered from the plummeting price of oil at the end of 2014 and into the start of 2015. While this has caused heavy selling, some have argued that this is irrational. Here are 14 clean energy stock picks for 2015, four...

It has been an unimpressive year for cleantech stock in Canada. The S&P/TSX Renewable Energy and Clean Technology Index opened at 109.26 on January 3, 2014 and it closed at 110.47 on December 24, 2014. The index has just one solitary stock single stock with a triple digit gain.  Here are the top performing Canadian Cleantech stocks are reported by Cleantech Letter. A quarter of the way through the year, the story was at least a little different. The global fuel cell stock rally may have been initiated by U.S.-based Plug Power, but the movement had a decidedly Canadian bent,...

While markets have been generous once again this Christmas, there are some dark clouds on the horizon for green investors. Almost ever year Wall Street enjoys a "Santa Claus Rally" and this commonly includes green stock. This year, as markets fell in December, investors where wondering whether bearish sentiments were going to deny them a Christmas rally. Although it came late, the rally did come. The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index Composite plunged in December, only to rebound as Christmas drew near. This follows the movement of broader market trends including both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the...

This video from the 2014 Social Enterprise Conference explores the ideal sustainable finance marketplace including the strategies, financial tools (e.g. green bonds, clean energy ETFs, public equity, sustainable investment funds and PE).