Recently, Bill Page was interviewed by John Wrenn of UBS regarding the positive prospects for clean tech investing. The interview was featured on the Sustainable Alpha website through Sustainable Business Oregon Magazine. Below is the link to the interview. http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/columns/2013/04/sustainable-alpha-bill-page-is.html Read more ›
insights
Math Homework, with Extra Credit
Bill McKibben of 350.org has toured U.S. college campuses with a nation-wide “Do the Math” tour to convince students to take action, pressuring university endowments to divest from fossil fuels: http://math.350.org/. The “math” refers to acceptable allowances and limits of carbon and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) that can be released into the atmosphere, before global climate change is exacerbated. We... Read more ›
Information Flow in the Micro Cap World
Over the past 20 years, the amount of information available on financial markets has exploded due to the emergence and proliferation of the internet and social media. Instant reporting of news followed by instant analysis has become the norm. However, there are few quality control measures on the web as the medium is open to all. Although this democratization and... Read more ›
Clean Tech 2.0 – Megatrends In-Tact, Survivors Emerging
“Survive first, and make money afterwards.” - George Soros In managing the Essex Global Environmental Opportunities Strategy (GEOS) we remain strictly focused on environmental technology, with financial analysis an equally important component of our investment process. During a very difficult period for clean tech investing, we have consistently executed our investment philosophy and process, ensuring GEOS is the nexus of... Read more ›
Water: A Complex and Precious Resource
“We never know the worth of water, ‘til the well is dry.” Thomas Fuller, English Proverb, 1732. In managing the Essex Global Environmental Opportunities Strategy (GEOS), we invest across nine clean technology themes. A key GEOS theme is water, which is a complex and precious resource. Water is localized, with its presence a critical catalyst to rates of economic growth. ... Read more ›
Will 2013 be the Year of Biofuel?
Since the initial public offerings of the first tranche of second generation biofuel companies in the spring of 2010, the performance of the stocks has been staggeringly poor. The five higher-profile biofuel companies (Codexis, Amyris, Gevo, Solazyme and KiOR) that went public over a 14-month span from April 2010 have experienced stock price declines averaging nearly -74%. In addition, at... Read more ›
Despite Misconceptions, Clean Tech Takes Hold
While misconceptions regarding the state of clean tech investing have run rampant, we believe the long-term case for new and clean energy technology grows stronger by the day. The longer-term secular catalysts for clean tech and new energy infrastructure continue apace, driven by massive economic transitions in the emerging markets which are placing great stress on the world’s natural resources. ... Read more ›
A Practical Approach for the Student Activists
We read with interest an article in The New York Times on 12/5/12 entitled “To Stop Climate Change, Students Aim at College Portfolios”. In short, there is growing movement among college students lobbying the overseers of university endowments to purge investments in fossil fuel companies. This effort is being compared to the anti-apartheid campaign to pressure endowments to divest from... Read more ›
Why We Do What We Do
As investors focused on finding companies that solve some of the world’s greatest challenges, we have been continually reminded lately of the “bear” case surrounding clean technology investment. Among hedge funds, it has become the easiest play in the playbook to short anything and everything related to solar energy, wind power, electric vehicles, advanced batteries, and biofuel, with little regard... Read more ›
Beyond the EU Din…Environmental Alarms and Clean Tech Solutions
I have had some push-back over the past year regarding clean tech investing, as many investors have painted all clean tech and new energy solutions with a broad ‘Solyndra brush.’ Meanwhile, as environmental alarms sound across the globe, clean tech investing continues apace, despite the misconceived headlines. Environmental conditions are impacting our economy currently, and we believe this will have... Read more ›