Portfolio

Tom Konrad CFA The best four stocks I've found in my six month quest to find the best peak oil investments. I apologize for being a tease.  Since March, I've been writing this series I've called "The Best Peak Oil Investments," but in many cases what I've actually done is to warn readers to stay away from particular sectors.  This bait-and-switch was compounded for my syndicated readers at Seeking Alpha when their editors decided to re-title the early articles in this series "Peak Oil Investments I'm Putting My Money On."  If you've stuck...

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...

Tom Konrad CFA My speculative green gambles still have chips, but the mild decline of the stock market so far this year is not enough to make them really pay off, yet. In January, I brought readers a collection of nine bearish puts on non-green companies and ETFs and one tiny energy efficiency company with a chance of taking off big before the end of the year.  They considered of bets against three fossil energy companies, four travel and leisure stocks, a Mexico ETF , a Trucking company (JB Hunt ), and a long bet on Power...

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 In the six months since I published my annual clean energy mini-portfolio, it has far outperformed my industry benchmark, the Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Index (PBW).  The dismal performance of renewable energy stocks so far this year is likely to lead to great buying opportunities in the rest of the year. 2010 is the third year in a row that I've published a list of ten renewable and energy efficiency stocks that I expect to perform well over the coming year. The details on the list for 2010 are here; this article is...

Tom Konrad, CFA The stock market is up, and my bets against it are down, except in energy.  It's time to double down. Earlier this week, a client asked me if I'd found any buying opportunities while doing research for my "Best Peak Oil Investments" series.  The answer is, "no," although I've found a few companies I'm hoping to buy at lower prices, later.  As regular readers know, I've been bearish since June 2009, after I cashed in on the quick rally in March, April, and May of that year.  My last ten months of...

Tom Konrad, CFA Three months have passed since I published my annual clean energy mini-portfolio.  So far, these stocks have beaten the Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Index (PBW) handily, but they trail the broader market. This is the third year in a row I've published a list of ten stocks for the year ahead at the end of December.  In 2008 my list trailed the broader stock market but beat the clean energy index, and last year it outperformed both.  So far, this year looks more like 2008 than 2009.  In addition to the portfolio of ten...

Tom Konrad, CFA A quick update of last month's list of speculative puts, to reflect the new options symbols. In January, I put together a list of nine puts and one small energy efficiency stock I expect to do well this year.  I normally only do updates on these every quarter, but because of the recent change option symbols, I thought I'd revisit my 10 Green Energy Gambles.  The links in the original article have stopped working; this new table shows the current list. Here's the list: with updated option symbols. Security Portfolio...

Tom Konrad, CFA Given the small size of its economy and rather lackluster approach to climate change, Canada has many of the Cleantech stocks with the best prospects.  Canadian listed firms come from a broad range of sustainable sectors, and a lack of attention from United States investors means that many trade at very attractive valuations.  Corporate Knights' has picked ten of the best. I'm often surprised at how many of my favorite green stocks are listed in Canada.  This year, two of my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2010 are Canadian listed.  The same was true for my...

Tom Konrad, CFA If you like to take risks, want to fight climate change and prepare for the impact of peak oil, and would also like a chance to make a big return on your investments, here are ten investments you can make that might do all of those things.  Note (4/28/2010): A performance update for these picks is available here A small part of my portfolio is usually in small, risky green companies with the promise of big returns.  This year, however, I'm too bearish to own many small, risky companies, but I'm still making some long-shot bets...

Year in Review: Ten Green Energy Gambles for 2009 Tom Konrad, CFA My speculative renewable and alternative energy stock picks for 2009 had mixed results. The gambles came nowhere near the performance of my 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2009, and only kept pace with their benchmarks.  The reasons why can be found on the companies' balance sheets and cash flow statements. In January 2009 in response to popular demand, I gave readers ten picks of speculative green energy stocks.  I tend to buck the general trend that renewable energy investors tend to be gamblers, but my annual stock...

Tom Konrad, CFA A mini-portfolio of stocks that not only are green, but should outperform the market in an environment of increasing concern about climate change and peak oil. This is the third annual list of green stocks I have published.  In 2008, it was a list of ten speculative alternative energy companies (in three parts) that I thought might catch public notice that year.  As we all now know, 2008 was a horrible year for speculative stocks, and my stocks were no exception, losing an average of 55% that year, although that still ended up being better than...

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 &...

Tom Konrad, CFA I never thought 2009 would be a good year for risky stocks, but my readers asked for them anyway.  The market's strong third quarter have paid off for risk-takers who gambled on my 10 Green Energy Gambles for 2009. I started out the year by providing readers with a portfolio of ten relatively conservative plays on green energy.  That portfolio was representative of how I planned to approach the market this year, and has produced stronger returns and less volatility when compared to both green energy stocks and the market as a whole.  Many of my...

My annual green energy stock picks continue to hold up, but the Obama Effect for clean energy seems to have been lost in the summer's healthcare debate. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA For the first 9 months of 2009,  my ten green energy stocks for 2009 are up 23.4% vs. the S&P 500, and up 20.4% over my clean energy benchmark, the iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index (ICLN).  For the third quarter, that amounts to a loss of 1% relative to the S&P 500, and a gain of 7% relative to ICLN. In my second quarter update, I...

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...