Alternative Energy Mutual Funds at Personal Finance Helpers

One of my new favorite investment sites is www.personal-finance-helpers.com. They have articles with all sorts of personal finance advice to help you with retirement planning, paying for college, buying a home and all the other major financial situations you may find yourself in.

Today they posted an article on alternative energy mutual funds. I always try to read everything I can regarding alternative energy mutual funds and I found this article to be a good overview with basic information.

If you are are interested in learning more about personal finance than the articles at www.personal-finance-helpers.com can be a great help.

Alternative Energy Mutual Funds

Alternative energy mutual funds are a great way to promote the use of clean, green, alternative energy sources and support the companies that develop them, while earning a nice profit at the same time. Many companies are exploring options for new energy sources to help provide environmentally friendly options while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. People have started to notice these companies and are beginning to invest money in them through government funding, stock purchases either from the market or through initial public offerings (IPOs) and through direct private investment and bond issues. Since direct investment into these companies may be difficult or beyond the resources of many individuals alternative energy mutual funds have begun to exist.

Alternative energy mutual funds appear to be a solid investment for many reasons. First, the entire green energy or alternative energy sector is of rapidly growing interest, creating demand for their stocks and tremendous growth. Second, the United States government is constantly looking for additional sources of fuel and energy to help us get away for our need for Middle Eastern oil. This has lead to government funding through low interest loans and grants for the development alternative energy sources. Free or cheap money for these companies helps them to lower costs and create more profits. Third, because we consume tremendous amounts of energy the long term outlook for the sector appears to be stable and many people are projecting strong long term earnings with minimal risks. All of these reasons add to the attractiveness of investing in alternative energy mutual funds.

When investing in alternative energy mutual funds it is important that you review the prospectuses of not just the fund you are interested in, but also the companies that the fund is significantly invested in. You want to be sure that the goals and direction on the alternative energy mutual fund and the companies that it invests in matches your needs and desires for the investment. It is also important to review the entire alternative energy mutual fund sector in order to understand which one will work best for you.

There are alternative energy mutual funds that invest in all types of alternative energy sources such as wind power, solar power, geothermal power, biomass and others. Many alternative energy mutual funds invest in just a single segment of the sector, others invest in multiple energy sources. Alternative energy mutual funds that invest in a single source of energy have the potential for higher gains, but also have the potential for greater losses. Most people prefer to buy alternative energy mutual funds that invest across multiple sources. This may bring potential gains down slightly, but the diversification greatly reduces risk.

Most alternative energy mutual funds invest in a combination of equity securities of companies that are engaged in alternative energy development, production or delivery. Basically, the companies either work on ways to create alternative energy, actually produce energy, or delivery energy to consumers. The equity securities in these companies include common stock, preferred stock, equities that may be converted to stock, or rights and warrants. There are a wide variety of investments that can be made by alternative energy mutual funds.

With a little bit of research you can help promote environmentally friendly energy producers, clean up the planet and reduce our dependence on foreign oil while making a profit by investing in alternative energy mutual funds.

Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW)

Sorry for the delay in the series, but today we will continue to look at the Top No Load Alternative Energy Mutual Funds by looking at Invesco PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW).

The Invesco PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW) is a no-load alternative energy mutual fund that seeks results that generally correspond to thye proce and yield of he WinderHill Clean Energy Index before fees and expenses. The WinderHill Clean Energy Index is designed to deliver capital growth by selecting companies that focus on clean and generally renewable sources of energy and the technologies that create greener energy.

The fund is mostly non-diversified holding securities in only 51 alternative energy companies. Because of it's non-diversified nature the Invesco PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW) will experience greater volatility than the market as a whole. This means that this no-load alternative energy mutual fund will experience greater losses than average on down swings and greater profits than average on upswings.

This alternative energy mutual funds top ten holdings are:
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd 4.82%
Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. 4.57%
Cosan Ltd (CL A) 4.30%
Trina Solar Ltd (ADS) 4.29%
ReneSola Ltd (ADS) 3.61%
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd (ADS) 3.39%
JA Solar Holdings Ltd (ADS) 3.16%
Ormat Technologies Inc. 3.10%
OM Group Inc. 3.03%
American Superconductor Corp. 3.02%

The Invesco PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW) alternative energy mutual fund invests across multiple investment styles and capitilizations with the largest groups being Small-Cap Growth (57.31%) and Mid-Cap Growth (24.93%).

This alternative energy mutual fund features a low expense ratio of 0.70%.

All told this is a very solid no-load alternative energy mutual fund that should be considered if you have a long investment horizon that can tolerate swings in value.

Best No Load Alternative Energy Mutual Funds - PBD - Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio

Today we'll continue our look at the best no-load alternative energy mutual funds and ETFs with an analysis of Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD):

The Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) attempts to gain investment returns through increased stock share prices and dividend yield and tries to correspond to the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index. The index as a whole attempts to deliver capital appreciation and is derived of companies that focus on clean energy normally from renewable sources and technologies that promote green energy sources. This portfolio is reconstituted and rebalanced on a quartlerly basis.

The Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) is currently made up of 80 holdings. The top holdings of the portfolio include:

Hansen Transmissions International N.V. 4.31%
Vestas Wind systems A/S 3.51%
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (ADS) 3.38%
Gamesa Corporacion Technologica S.A. 3.36%
China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group Co. Ltd. 3.27%
SMA Solar Technology AG 3.04%
EDF Energies Nouvelles S.A. 2.61%
Acciona S.A. 2.48%
Iberdrola Renovables S.A. 2.41%

The Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) is set up as a Multi-Cap fund. The companies in the portfolio break down as follows:

Large-Cap Growth 15.99%
Large-Cap Value 3.43%
Mid-Cap Growth 49.17%
Mid-Cap Value 2.54%
Small-Cap Growth 24.44%
Small-Cap Value 4.42%

The Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) is a multi national fund. The investments within the portfolio are attributed to the following countries:

United States 24.12%
China 11.93%
Germany 11.37%
Spain 11.13%
France 7.87%
Japan 7.30%
Denmark 5.28%
Belgium 5.15%
Brazil 2.79%
Switzerland 1.96%

As with any no load alternative energy mutual fund the Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) is subject to market risks that may result in losses. Since the Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) is very lightly diversified the risk of loss and potential for gains is greater than the market as a whole. The Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) has a low expense ratio of 0.75%.

All-in-all The Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) is a very solid no-load alternative energy mutual fund.

Next we will continue our look at the Best No-Load Alternative Energy Mutual Funds with Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW).

Best No-Load Alternative Energy Mutual Funds, Part2 - GAAEX

Today we'll continue our look at the best no-load alternative energy mutual funds and ETFs with an analysis of the Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund (GAAEX).

The Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in equities of businesses that are involved in alternative energy or energy technology sectors. They believe that a growing demand for energy, limited power production capacities, rising energy costs and environmental awareness are going to lead to profits for these businesses and the alternative energy mutual funds that invest in them.

The Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund provides investors with the opportunity to take part in the shift toward alternative and renewable energy sources. Typically, the fund invests 40 to 60 stocks of companies that receive more than half their revenues from alternative energy or alternative energy technology.

Alternative energy typically includes power created through solar, hydroelectric, wind, biomass, biofuels, geothermal and tidal waves. Alternative energy technology includes the technologies that allow us to tap into alternative energy sources whether through storage and transportation, and technologies that can enable us to conserve energy or allow more efficient use of energy.

The Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund invests in securities of foreign countries and may have additional risk and volatility due to political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. The Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund is a non-diversified fund. This means that the funds assets are concentrated in relatively few companies which will increase both the opportunity for gain and the risk of loss.

The Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in Solar (46.8%), Wind (28.45$) and Hydro (9.48) sources. Its top ten holdings as of 12/31/2008 are SMA Solar Technology Ag (4.34%), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd (4.06%), Q-Cells AG (3.94%), Solarworld AG (3.9%), Echelon Corporation (3.81%), SunPower Corporation (3.75%), Iderdola Renovables (3.67%), Vestas Wind systems A/S (3.66%), Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (3.66%), First Solar, Inc. (3.50%).

Due to the funds lack of diversification and propensity for investing in small companies the fund has recently seen greater losses than the market as a whole. This is to be expected. I would further expect the fund to achieve greater gains during upswings.

The funds expense ratio is a relatively low 1.69%, and there is no sales fee. As the economy recovers, this may become one of the highest returning alternative energy mutual funds available on the market.

We will continue our analysis of the best no-load alternative energy mutual funds with Invesco Powershares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD).

Best No Load Alternative Energy Mutual Funds and ETFs

While researching I found an article on the best no load alternative energy mutual funds on www.top-no-load-mutual-funds.com. I like what they have to say about the funds but I would like to delve into each individual fund a little deeper. Over the next week or so I will be reviewing these funds and adding in a few of my own.

So here goes:

#1: Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund (CGAEX): This is a nice clean, green socially responsible alternative energy mutual fund, but I am not sure that I would consider this the absolute best no-load alternative energy mutual fund.

The investment objective of the Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund is to gain long-term growth of capital by investing in equity securities of businesses that are engaged in alternative energy and meet the social criteria of the fund. The fund invests in companies both inside and outside of the United States.

The alternative energy sources that the mutual funds invest in include renewable sources such as wind, solar, biofuel and geothermal, technologies that allow us to tap these resources, and services and technologies that enable greater efficiency in the use of energy.

The no-load alternative energy mutual fund is subject to the risk that stocks in the energy sector are subjected to and has the possibility of declining in value. The companies involved in alternative energy are typically more volatile than companies involved in other business sectors and as a result alternative energy mutual funds may be more volatile than the market as a whole. This can result in increased gains or losses.

The largest alternative energy sector that the mutual fund invests in is wind energy (36.4%), followed by Solar (21.7%) and Alternative Energy Utilities (14.0%). The top ten holdings within the fund are Iberdrola Renovabl (7.38%), EDP Renovaveis SA (6.68%), FPL Group Inc (5.39%), Scot + Southern EN (5.24%), Gamesa Corp Tecno (5.22%), Vestas Wind Systems (4.05%), Kyocera Corp (3.81), Johnson Matthey (3.76%), Renewable Energy (3.73%) and First Solar Inc (3.70%). There are currently 60 issues within the portfolio.

The minimum Initial Investment in the fund is $2,000 ($1,000 within an IRA) with subsequent minimum investments of $250. The expense ratio of the fund is 1.85%.

The fund has lagged slightly behind the Lipper Global Natural Resources Index, but that may be attributable to the funds lack of diversification and volatility. Basically, when the market as a whole is doing well the fund should exceed the indexes and during bad times the fund will experience greater losses. As the market turns around I would expect to see better than average returns for the Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund. It is one of the better managed no-load alternative energy mutual funds.

Next we'll look at the Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund, GAAEX.

Green Mutual Funds/Alternative Energy Mutual Funds and Socially Responsible Investing

Green mutual funds and alternative energy mutual funds both fall under the category of socially responsible investing (SRI). Socially responsible investing is known for trying to maximize the "social good" as well as the investments financial return. SRI achieves it's goals through investing in companies that display a social consciousness and ethical business practices that try to make the world a better place. Generally, the socially responsible investor shows favoritism towards companies that provide consumer protection, human rights, social welfare or a cleaner/healthier environment. A recurring theme of socially responsible investments is that you can "do well by doing good."

Green Mutual Funds, or green funds, are environmentally friendly mutual funds offered by investment companies such as Calvert and Winslow, invest in companies that operate in a environmentally responsible manner. The companies that green mutual funds invest in usually do their best to ensure that their day to day operations have as little negative effect on the environment and produce as little pollution as possible. Many of these companies also provide products and services that are aimed at making the world a cleaner, greener place.

Alternative Energy Mutual Funds, also known as renewable energy funds, invest in companies that are working to provide power from clean, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Typically, the companies that alternative energy mutual funds invest in help provide electricity at reduced costs and help us move away from our dependence on fossil fuels, reducing pollution in the process.

As the world's demand for energy increases and we all become more environmentally aware the companies that alternative energy mutual funds are expected to become more and more profitable, leading to a strongly positive long term outlook for most alternative energy mutual funds.

If you are looking for areas to invest your money while still maintaining a positive environmental outlook you should strongly consider investing in green mutual funds and alternative energy mutual funds. Green Mutual Funds and Alternative Energy Mutual Funds are great ways for you to earn a little green while keeping the earth green.

Alternative Energy Funds

Alternative energy funds are growing in popularity. Here is a question I recently received regarding alternative energy funds:

Question: I am interested in investing in companies that support alternative fuel technology or alternative energy sources. Are there and mutual funds that will fill my needs?

Answer: These days there are a lot of investors that are hoping to make a little green off of the companies that are going green. There has been a great movement to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels for environmental, economic and political reasons. As the desire to move away from foreign oil and clean up the environment grows, the number of alternative energy funds should grow with it.

Alternative energy funds invest in securities of companies that work to develop, produce or provide energy from alternative sources such as wind, solar, or biofuels. The securities may include a combination of common stocks, preferred stocks or items that are convertible into common stocks.

Most financial experts agree that individuals will have great difficulty choosing individual stocks of alternative energy companies successfully. Many of these companies are relatively new and on't have long, established track records. for many of these companies there are no established benchmarks to compare them to or to build accurate long term estimates. By investing in alternative energy funds it is possible to profit from the long-term profits of the industry without taking on the risk of investing in just a limited number of companies.

Most people agree that the long-term outlook for alternative energy funds are good. Demand for their products and services continue to grow and profits should follow. If you'd like to support companies that will protect our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and earn you a handsome profit you should consider investing in alternative energy funds.

Alternative Energy Mutual Funds Investment Outlook

While the GDP is expected to be slightly negative over the next 3 quarters to a year there are reasons to believe alternative energy mutual funds should have significant price appreciation in the near future. Let’s examine why:

New legislation has provided extra funds into the banking industry and the credit markets are beginning to show signs of strengthening. This additional source of capital will provide many alternative energy companies with the funds they will need for expansion.

The industry outlook for alternative energy stocks is considered bullish. One of the world’s largest industrial segments is the electrical power industry. The compounded annual growth rate of the earth’s electrical consumption has grown at a rate over 3.2% from 1980 through 2008, while the global electrical capacity has only increased at a rate of 2.8%. Use of electricity is expected to rise even faster as development in China, Japan and Russia continues to grow. The continuous growth of energy demand has led to an energy shortfall. This energy shortfall is leading to research for new and better ways to produce electricity.

According to the International Energy Agency investment in the production, distribution and transmission to meet this increased demand is expected to exceed $11 Trillion by 2030. This, coupled with the desire for independence from foreign oil, constraints of fossil fuels and environmental concerns is leading to significant interest in alternative and renewable energy sources.

Currently, fossil fuel account for 80% of power generation in the United States. Nuclear power accounts for an additional 9%. Legislation in several states calls for 15% of commercial electrical power to come from renewable sources and many states are expected to follow suit. This will further increase demand for alternative energy.

The increased demand for alternative and renewable energy sources leads to potential profits for many companies involved in the alternative energy industry. The lack of history or benchmarks for these companies makes investing in individual alternative energy stocks to be difficult. This difficulty is avoided by investing in alternative energy mutual funds, also known as green energy mutual funds and renewable energy mutual funds.