Portfolio

Tom Konrad, CFA 2009 was a banner year for my clean energy stock picks, which are up 57% over 12 months, greatly exceeding their benchmarks. Over the last 12 months,  my ten green energy stocks for 2009 are up 57% vs. 29% for the S&P 500, and 12% for my clean energy benchmark, the iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index (ICLN), the two indexes I specified for benchmarks when I published the list a year ago. Below is a detailed rundown of the results.   Company  Ticker Change 12/27/08 to 12/27/09 Dividend &...

 October was a spooky month for clean energy stocks.  My benchmark Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Index (PBW) cringed down 2.9% like the young Supergirl who jumped when a mechanical ghost startled her at my door Haloween night.   My 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2014 model portfolio was more like Supergirl's slightly older brother, who was dressed as a SWAT team member and insisted that he wasn't scared: It rose a slim 0.9% since the last update on October 3rd.  For the ten months since I launched the portfolio on December 26th, PBW...

In my article about electrical transmission, I mentioned that I liked Composite Technology Corp. (CPTC.OB). I became increasingly bullish on this stock as a result of my changing understanding while I was researching the article. The article then initiated an email conversation with a long-time investor, where I learned more about the company's business. As a result, I just purchased more of the stock (at $1.33, using a limit order), quadrupling my initial position (acquired in February at $.91. My current average cost basis is $1.23.) Several of my clients also own...

As I mentioned yesterday I had a limit order to purchase SunPower Corporation (SPWR). The stock was scheduled to start the day at $18 and I expected that the stock would be up big in the morning, so I set a limit order at $20. Well when the stock started trading it opened up at over $27. Mid-day the stock seemed to rest around the $25 level and that is when I entered the stock with a 1/3 position in my personal portfolio at a price of $25.70. The stock is not available for purchase at Marketocracy, so it...

Tom Konrad CFA I like to think that one of the things that distinguishes me from the mass of investment bloggers and newsletter writers is that I write about my mistakes, as well as my great calls.  This is not just a service to readers, but a service to myself.  Overconfidence and why I write about my mistakes One of the most pernicious cognitive errors common among stock market investors arises from our wish to see ourselves as great investors.  One of the ways we accomplish that goal is to selectively and unconsciously self-edit our...

A Carbon Conundrum for Christmas Do we have to choose between happy kids this Christmas, and a happy future for those kids?  Practically everything we buy has a negative environmental impact.  If green consumption is an oxymoron, so is green giving.  Are we left with only greener giving?  It often seems that the only way to be truly green is to be like the Grinch (before his heart-enlargement) and not give anyone anything.  And skip the tree while you're at it. It's a hard decision, and while there are many Green Shopping Advisories telling us that we can buy...

Tom Konrad CFA Performance in May Fear of the disintegration of the Euro resurfaced in May, sending all stocks downward.  Clean energy stocks once again fell more than the market as a whole.  Possible causes are that many clean energy sectors are exposed to further loss of European subsidies, and that clean energy stocks tend to be more volatile than the market as a whole, with both up and down moves being magnified.  The Russell 2000 index (which I use as a broad market benchmark in this series) was down 7.1% in May, the Powershares Wilderhill Clean...

Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA Colossal Fossil Failure With a president actively hostile towards renewable energy and focused on promoting fossil fuels, it would be easy to think that clean energy stocks would underperform their fossil cousins.  The exact opposite has been true.  Despite the administrations' efforts and tweets bragging about new highs for the Dow, energy funds are down over 10% for the year.  For example, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), largely composed of oil and gas companies, is down 13% for the year.  The tiny coal sector did better, with the VanEck Vectors Coal ETF up 18%. Even so, Trump's...

Tom Konrad CFA Cherry picking the holdings of green energy mutual funds. So far in this series I've concentrated on trying to pick the best of the Alternative Energy and Climate Change Mutual Funds.  This is a difficult task, because while I found in Part III that most of the funds' performance has been better than comparable index ETFs, these mutual funds' costs are quite high, even by the standards of most mutual funds, as I discussed in Part I.  In part II, I tried looking at the sector breakdown of the funds' holdings, to see if...

DayStar Technologies Inc (DSTI) has been on my radar for some time and the recent operational update created some renewed interest in the company. The stock traded up nicely over the past couple of days and it is now trading back down to the near term support due to some profit taking on the news. I have been looking for a good entry point on this stock and I feel like today is the day to make the move. Technically, the downside of this stock is that it may not be able to hold its currently levels and could...

Tom Konrad CFA My clean energy portfolio outperformed again in 2011, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. Without a doubt, 2011 was a horrible year for Clean Energy stocks, nearly as bad as 2008.  The difference was that, in 2008, the entire stock market was crushed, while this year, the broad market ended with only modest declines compared to clean energy stocks. Based on 2010 and 2011 closing prices, the broad market (as measured by the performance of the Russell 2000 index), was down 10%, while clean energy stocks were down 52%, as...

This morning I purchased shares for the mutual fund in two large utility companies that both have extensive research and power generation via renewable energy. FPL Group Inc (FPL) is an electric utility that is primarily based in the South East. This company owns Florida Power and Light and has been in much of the recent news due to hurricane Katrina. FPL also owns FPL Energy which is a division that provides wholesale electric power that is generated from Natural Gas, Wind, Solar, Hydro, and Nuclear. They currently produce more Wind generated power than any company in the...