According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance research, PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio ETF (NYSE: PZD) finished first of 36 public equity funds focused on clean energy and/or clean technology.
Of the 36 mutual and exchange traded funds worldwide that Bloomberg NEF tracked, the average fund fell 6.6% in 2010. In contrast, PZD, which tracks The Cleantech Index TM (AMEX: CTIUS) rose 7.5% in 2010 and rose 11.6% in Q1 2011.
Rafael Coven, Cleantech Indices' Managing Director and Index Advisor noted that the poor performance of most renewable energy stocks in 2011 was a major reason why Cleantech Index-based funds significantly outperformed their peers. "Since the Cleantech Index is diversified across many industries, it had less exposure to the volatile renewable energy sector. In addition, the Index includes only the best companies in each sector which tend to fare better than their sectors as a whole. I expect this strategy will result in continued long-term outperformance of peer funds and indices, but I certainly don't expect that CTIUS-linked funds will finish first in a given year. That's short-term stuff. We track a long-term trend.”
Added Cleantech Group's Managing Director for Europe & Asia, Richard Youngman, "The Index doesn't track an industry or a region, but rather a global megatrend that cuts across a wide range of industries and geographies. Narrow industry sectors will rise and fall dramatically, but we believe the growth in demand for clean technology will continue to accelerate across many industries for decades. The Index's four-year performance relative to the S&P underlines that.”
Other funds tracking the Cleantech Index had similar performance: they include the recently listed PowerShares Cleantech ETF in Mexico (ticker: PZD.MX) and the KSM Cleantech Index ETF (Bloomberg ticker: KSMCLNT) in Israel.
As part of its quarterly rebalancing, the Cleantech Index has added Switzerland's SGS S.A. (SGSN.VX) and Mistras Group (MG: NYSE) effective March 31, 2011.
Full online article on Investor Ideas about PowerShares CleanTech Portfolio
PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio, official website
