Monthly Archives: November 2010
Alternative Energy and Climate Change Mutual Funds, Part I
Tom Konrad CFA Understanding the costs of green energy mutual funds. It's been a bit over a year since I last looked at the mutual funds in the Clean Energy sector. Each year, I comb through their portfolios for new ideas on where to invest my own funds and those of my green-minded clients, with the added bonus of being able to help readers make better decisions about which fund, if any, is right for them. This year, I looked at the eight mutual funds from AltEnergyStocks' green mutual fund list. In order of fund size,...
Alternative Energy: The Paradigm is the Problem
Tom Konrad CFA Can We Afford Alternative Energy? Most serious critiques of alternative energy boils down to, "it costs too much." True, detractors of wind power sometimes point to the number of birds and bats killed, and some people worry that electric vehicles (EVs) are so quiet that they pose a danger to blind pedestrians. While such critiques are legitimate in that they are real problems, they can also be alleviated. Avian fatalities can be greatly reduced by more sensitive siting of wind turbines, and even painting turbines purple. Nissan has installed an...
