Earth Equity News

Tips for Green Investing in 2009. By David Pierson and Edward Silver, LATimes, January 4, 2009. "In these dismal times, is it financially smart to do the environmentally right thing?... The green wave has been volatile, returning profits over prolonged rallies during boom times but falling particularly hard in recent months. In the second half of 2008, renewable-energy shares tanked. The WilderHill Clean Energy Index, a collection of 51 green companies, ended the year down 70%, compared with a 34% drop in the Dow Jones industrial average. The often undercapitalized start-ups became especially vulnerable after the stock market meltdown because there was no longer cash available to fund the hefty upfront costs for wind and solar projects. On top of that, the price of fossil fuels plunged, restoring conventional energy's status as the low-cost alternative -- costing investors lots of money. The Standard & Poor's energy index lost 35.9% last year… Plenty of provocative but unproven ideas are out there [for green investments], which means that potential shareholders should be extremely careful… One way to find funds that invest in green companies is to contact socially responsible investing organizations. The Social Investment Forum (www.socialinvest.org), a financial industry association with an emphasis on ethical investments, puts out regular reports on the state of the industry. As of 2007, there were 260 mutual funds that marketed themselves as having been screened as socially or environmentally responsible investments. But experts urge caution even when dealing with such professionals. A 2007 Consumer Reports survey showed that most socially responsible mutual funds had lower returns and higher expenses than their mainstream counterparts."