The poor performance of some sectors aiming to slow
climate change is pushing money managers to cast further afield for investments
that both carry green credentials and are likely to post better returns.
Some renewable-energy stocks, such as those in solar and wind industries, have
fallen spectacularly in recent years, belying hopes that they were poised to
break out.
Money managers say this poor performance is in part due to a lack of hoped-for
policies to help these industries grow. As a result, say the managers, they are
looking at other areas of the market that are part of the climate-change story,
such as recycling and energy efficiency. Even eBay Inc (EBAY), as a promoter of
reusing goods, fits the bill.
"Nobody's questioning the long-term prospects, market share or gains of
[renewable energy] sectors, but over the medium it's not been that good,"
said Vipin Ahuja, manager of Allianz RCM EcoTrends Fund (AECOX). "So
people are looking elsewhere for sustainable stories for the next couple of
years."
Ahuja's fund, which he joined about one year ago, is down 19% a year in the
past three years, according to data from Morningstar Inc.
The deteriorating prospect for new policies to combat climate change has been
palpable at the recent U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancun, where
delegates from nearly 200 countries met to hash out a possible extension of the
Kyoto Protocol and other policies.
The more sober atmosphere this year, particularly compared to the gathering's
predecessor in
Copenhagen
, reflected toned-down hopes the world's largest polluters would reach
agreement on policies to combat global warming and promote renewable energy.
Those downgraded expectations have left their mark on solar-panel stocks, once
Wall Street darlings.
In mid-2008 First Solar Inc.'s (FSLR) stock traded at close to $300. Today,
it's at about $132.
It's a similar story with many of First Solar's peers, including SunPower Corp.
(SPWRA), whose stock has fallen to about $12 from close to $100 in the past 30
months. The MAC Solar Energy Index is down an annualized 27% in the past three
years.
Others in the renewable energy space have also suffered, such as wind turbine
maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWDRY, VWS.KO), which has seen its stock price
fall to less than $30 a share this week from more than $140 in 2008.
One example of how politics has hurt the renewable sector is the failure to
pass a federal renewable portfolio standards policy. The rule would have forced
utility companies across the
U.S.
to supply a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources.
"That discouraged many utilities from signing, for example, agreements for
wind [farm] installations," said Colm O'Connor, a portfolio manager at
Kleinwort Benson Investors who is part of the management team on Calvert Global
Alternative Energy Fund (CGAEX), which is down an annualized 26% over the past
three years, according to Morningstar.
Looking Elsewhere
"In the past year we've avoided wind and solar
investments," said Richard Mercado, manager of London-based F&C Global
Climate Opportunities Fund.
Merchado said the fund has been looking more at the natural gas sector, and--in
a theme several money managers repeated--also at so-called mainstream companies
with a climate-change slant. For example, eBay is one of the fund's investments
as it "promotes re-using products and not throwing them out," said
Merchado.
Merchado said the most represented sector in the fund is energy efficiency. This
focus chimed with that of other managers, several of whom pointed to
developments in LED technology as an example of the trend. As the costs come
down, use of LEDs in anything from televisions to traffic lights increases, and
lighting for commercial spaces becomes possible.
Another example of looking at efficient, rather than renewable, energy is
demand-response technology. These services let utilities manage consumer demand
more efficiently by relaying energy usage data back to providers.
O'Connor said he plays demand response by investing in meter makers such as
EnerNoc Inc. (ENOC) and Comverge Inc. (COMV).
Ben Allen, director of research at Parnassus Investments, said that since 2007
his firm has invested in Waste Management Inc. (WM), which he said has been
focusing on energy efficiency by turning waste into electricity. Another
company
Parnassus
likes is Cooper Industries PLC (CBE), in part because of the company's
growing LED business.
Allianz RCM's Ahuja said his fund's holdings in LED-related companies went from
zero to about 15% in the past year.
Sticking with it
But
though solar and wind have suffered recently, that's not the whole tale. For
example, while there's no federal renewable portfolio standard, O'Connor said
that 29 states have their own standards. And the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, the stimulus bill, created two programs of credits to promote
renewable power projects.
What's more, Ahuja noted that global demand for solar energy grew 100% in 2009.
And, he said, some solar companies have seen their share prices grow, or at
least hold up better than others, in recent years, such as
China
's
Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) and Yingli Green Energy Holdings (YGE).
Some sectors in the climate change theme, such as renewables, are subject to
policy volatility, said Bruce Kahn, senior investment analyst at DB Climate
Change Advisors, a unit of Deutsche Bank (DB).
"I agree that the area is struggling in the short term, but we're
investing in the long-term trend and trading around the volatility," he
said. "It tells me that you can't pick sectors when dealing with this kind
of volatility -- it's a stock-pickers universe."