Portfolio

Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA My Quick Clean Energy Tracking Portfolio continues to outperform all benchmarks and expectations... is it luck, or did I stumble onto a better way to invest in green energy stocks? I continue to be stunned at how the portfolio which I intended as an easy way to duplicate green energy mutual fund performance at much lower cost continues to blow those green mutual funds out of the water.  I last published an update on this portfolio at the end of May, and was shocked to find that it had beaten the funds it was...

Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA In the two months since the last update, most of the stocks in my Ten Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio have reported first quarter earnings.  There were few surprises, and those were mostly pleasant ones, allowing the model portfolio to add to its gains, and pull a little farther ahead of its benchmark.  For the year to the end of May, the model portfolio is up 13.8%, 2% ahead of its benchmark.  The benchmark is an 80/20 blend of the clean energy income...

Tom Konrad. CFA A "bonus" stock pick this year.  Also, notes on New Flyer Industries and Finavera Wind Energy. Maybe it was because Seeking Alpha did not carry my annual list of 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2012 this year, but no one seems to have noticed that there were actually 11 stocks in the list.  Call it the Spinal Tap of top-ten lists. If anyone did notice the extra pick, they didn't leave a comment.  What happened was that I have two number 8 stocks, but there is enough text...

Tom Konrad CFA Experimenting with more frequent updates In the past, I genrally only wrote about my annual list of ten clean energy stocks on a quarterly basis, but when I wrote last month to apolgize for inadvertently slipping in an extra stock, and in the process wrote a few notes on a couple of the stocks with news, a couple readers wrote to say they liked the more frequent updates.  So let it be written, so let it be done.  Leave a comment if you think it's something I should continue doing,...

Most alternative energy investors are aware of North American wind power's very bright growth prospects. In past articles, we discussed encouraging projections for the US and Canadian (PDF document) wind markets between now and 2015. While onshore European capacity is fast being exhausted, North America is only beginning its foray into wind and some major capex can be expected in this space over the coming years. Besides solid expected growth, another phenomenon is currently impacting the wind industry; consolidation. This is a global movement that is affecting all of the power gen sector, and that has no-doubt been...

UPDATE: Here's how this portfolio performed in 2009. Here is a mini-portfolio of ten Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Stocks I expect to do well in 2009.  Last year, I brought you ten speculative picks in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, and I evaluated them against clean energy mutual funds and ETFs on Monday.  I chose to go with speculative picks, because I did not expect readers to be interested in the stodgier, value-oriented picks I usually prefer. Given the lessons of the credit crisis, if you still prefer speculative picks, you're an inveterate gambler.  If I get...

John Petersen The second quarter was brutal for publicly traded energy storage companies which saw their stock prices fall by an average of 24.1% after a first quarter drubbing of 16.2%. Frankly I'm astonished that investors are chasing a battery-powered IPO like Tesla Motors (TSLA) and ignoring the energy storage technologies that will make EVs possible, and perhaps cost-effective, while making wind, solar and other renewable energy sources stable. At times like these I need to remind myself that energy storage is the beating heart of cleantech and take comfort in the fact that while Goldman Sachs began...

Tom Konrad CFA May was a tough month for most clean energy stocks, even though the broad market was up slightly, but my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2016 model portfolio continued to out-perform, mostly because of strong earnings for several stocks.  The model portfolio was up 3.1% for the month and 3.8% for the year to date, even though its clean energy benchmark fell 2.0%, for a decline of 2.8% for the year through May 31st.  The broad market of small cap stocks also rose, and was up 2.2% for a total gain of 2.4% for the...

The markets have been in flux the last couple of weeks. I feel we are at a make or break time for the general trend of the market. Yesterday the S&P 500 was trying to close above the 200 day Moving Average but it failed. A close above this level will give me good reason to start investing some money again. Today the markets are down again and when you look at the S&P the 1210 level looks to be some solid resistance. People may wonder why I'm so concerned about the very short term trend of...

Tom Konrad CFA Corrected version 8/11/2011 Apologies to readers who have been missing my articles recently.  I've had little time to write as I have been too busy trading.  Long-time readers know that I've been bearish since the summer of 2009, and it has been a painful two years as I maintained my short positions and puts in the face of a generally rising market.  Market Outlook In my opinion, we are still a good distance from the bottom.  The rise of the stock market over the last two years has been predicated on...

Like last year, I will be offering paying readers a preview of my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2018 list.  I plan to publish the final article after market close on January 1st.  If you would like to see a draft version mailed on December 29th (a full trading day before the final publication) please PayPal $10 to me at with a note that it's for the 10 for 2018 preview.  The draft will contain the full list, but may not have a complete stock discussion for each stock.  I plan to finish the article over the next couple days. Note...

Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA  June was another good month (and capped a strong first half of the year) for my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2016 model portfolio. This update's going to be a short one, but here are the basic stats: June Total Return June Benchmark Return YTD Total Return YTD Benchmark Return 10 Clean Energy Stocks 3.3% 0.6% 6.8% -2.8% 7 Clean Energy Income Stocks...

The Obama Effect continues to make my annual ten picks shine. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA This is the second performance update on my 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2009.  In the first quarter, the model portfolio was up a tiny 1.6%, but still managed to beat the benchmarks handily (by 8% and 9%), since they were both down significantly. In the last three months, the market has turned around, logging significant gains, but my ten picks have continued to outperform. Company  Ticker Change 12/27/08 to 7/2/09 Dividend & Interest The...

Lighting Science Group Corp. (LSGP.OB) has been on my watchlist for several months. They design and market energy efficient lighting solutions with long lasting LED bulbs that can be quickly deployed in existing lighting applications and produce immediate cost savings and environmental benefits. Some key events that have attracted me to this company: They recently moved to the OTC BB off the pink sheets.They recently received a private placement of almost $7 millionAfter a several year absence they are finally a fully reporting companyThey are currently far from being profitable, but the trend on the balance sheet is...