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.

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.

Environmentally Friendly Mutual Funds

Many people have asked me if there are any environmentally friendly mutual funds on the market. The answer is a resounding YES! We keep stressing the point that you can earn handsome profits from investing in companies that are environmentally friendly, whether through their business practices or through the products and services that they sell.

For many people, finding individual companies to invest in can be quite difficult. Everyone knows that diversification is very important to reduce the amount of risk that your investment portfolio incurs. Because of limited funds and lack of information most investors will find it difficult to find stocks to buy that will be profitable and provide enough diversification. Environmentally friendly mutual funds do this work for you. The search for businesses that are expected to be profitable, conduct their business in ways that limits the negative effects on the Earth and may even produce products or services that help make the world a cleaner place.

Environmentally friendly mutual funds are normally classified in the investment subsection called green mutual funds. There are many different environmentally friendly mutual funds available that would be considered green mutual funds.

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.

Green Mutual Funds

Green mutual funds are a subsection of the socially responsible mutual fund sector. They limit all of their investments to companies that actively pursue environmentally friendly business practices and purposes. Some of the industries that are included in green mutual funds are energy generation using renewable or clean power sources such as wind or solar in order to reduce pollutants and companies that produce products that help us to be more environmentally friendly, such as biodegradable storage containers, solar panels or windmills. Many of the alternative energy mutual funds that are available on the market could be considered green mutual funds.

Even though many of the green mutual funds have been available for quite some time the sector itself is relatively new and there are relatively few participants. Since there are so few funds and many of them don't have an established track record they need to be evaluated on short-term performance as there is no real benchmark to grade them against. Many people judge green mutual funds based on the individual companies that they invest in and their potential for long term performance. As green mutual funds become more popular I expect more investment houses to offer them and we should begin to be able to make comparisons in the near future.

Most finance companies that sell mutual funds do not have a seperate listing for green mutual funds. They will usually be listed under their socially responsible mutual funds. Many of the stocks that are purchased by green mutual funds show a high degree of correlation to the stock market as a whole, so don't expect them to offer a great degree of diversification.

If you aer looking for ways to earn some profit while protecting the environment you should consider investing in green mutual funds.