EcoLuxury homes are not new, particularly in a town such as Boulder, however this showcase home represents a leap forward in design and construction.
It starts with a 100-year perspective. Unlike most American homes that are designed to last only decades, every aspect of this house is built to 100-year standards.
Built through a partnership between Boulder-based Vireo LLC and WeberHaus GmbH & Co. KG, this home was manufactured in Germany to precise tolerances (1/2 inch over a 100-foot span) and then shipped to the U.S. Once it arrived on site, assembly took a matter of days as there was no additional fabrication required.
January 14, 2010 – United Nations Headquarters, NY - global financial leaders gathered to address climate risk concerns and how they impact current and future investing decisions. Co-hosts, Ceres has produced a final report on the summit that does a great job of summarizing the elements that were discussed during the conference. Click here to view the report.
Roth IRA conversions are a hot topic for 2010. Many investors are heading straight for the punch bowl by converting all of their IRAs in the quest for “tax-free for life”. However the question of whether a Roth IRA conversion is suitable is very much circumstance specific and requires thoughtful (and sober) analysis first.
The law currently allows for IRA owners to “convert” up to 100% of their existing tax-deferred accounts (traditional IRAs, rollover IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, etc.) into a tax-free account, also known as a Roth IRA. Once a regular IRA is converted to a Roth IRA, no taxes will ever be owed on any future investment earnings or distributions. However, every dollar that is converted will be taxed at today’s ordinary income tax rates.
Anyone with an IRA is eligible for the conversion as there are no restrictions on age, income or marital status. Conversions are irrevocable, except as noted later in this article.
What’s unique about 2010?
2010 has generated Roth conversion fever for two reasons:
Prior to 2010 there was an income restriction where if you had more than $100K in modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), you were ineligible for a Roth conversion. This restriction has been lifted for 2010 (and future years) and therefore there is a large group of more affluent investors who were previously ineligible to convert.
If you convert your IRA to a Roth IRA in 2010, you can split the taxes owed in 2011 and 2012 as opposed to having to pay them all at once. If you convert in future years, all the taxes are owed by the filing deadline in the following year. Read more…
As it’s Earth Day, it only seems fitting to review investment opportunities that can positively impact a cleaner, greener future for the planet, our children and environment we share. One such area that is seeing an explosion of funds focusing on this space is the ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) landscape. This area has held up extremely well during these tough economic times and has seen solid investment inflows to green and clean technology companies. In fact, during 2009 this sector was the only private equity industry that showed a net gain in flows over previous annual numbers, and in terms of total investment clean energy has increased by 230% to $162 billion in 2009 over 2005 figures. Part of the appeal is that there is such enormous opportunity in so many different areas. Could this be a repeat of the .com boom of the 90s and early millennium?
A significant difference from the tech decade, however, is that while many of those start-ups were founded on ground breaking technologies, there is more stability within the world of alternative energy. For one, it is not just start-ups that are pushing the advancement forward. Large and established companies that have worked in the power industry for decades are recognizing the need to diversify their operations to keep up with the inevitable switch to more sustainable fuel and energy sources. A good example of this has been in the Natural Gas industry. No matter what your opinion on the fuel as a possible intermediate, cheaper, lower emission substitute (see earlier post), the recent acquisition of a number of natural gas producers by giant oil companies has clearly shown they will not allow the investment opportunity to pass and at worst will make a very safe hedge to their existing operations. Other firms focused on infrastructure and power delivery see opportunity in improving efficiencies within the distribution markets, not only at the corporate level, but within households and through smart grid system technology.
With so many different ways (and different scales) to invest, it only makes sense that investment vehicles are growing in number to support the demand and variety of nuances within the marketplace.
Outlined below is a summary of the current key funds in the ETF world and the areas they focus on.
As developed global markets struggle to extract themselves from the ‘great recession’, investor attention is often directed to other parts of the global economy in an effort to find other opportunities. A good amount of that focus has landed squarely on the shoulders of Brazil, and, to a lesser extent, Chile, with good reason. There is much to like about both these economies. In fact each puts some developed nations to shame when it comes to their robust fiscal, economic regulations and well managed growth over the last few years. In this multi-part series we will take a look at both separately to see what makes them an appealing investment opportunity for those that are willing to take on some risk.
Brazil has the largest economy in South America and ranks as the world’s fifth most populous country and tenth largest economy. It is uniquely situated in that it shares borders with every country in South America with the exception of Chile and Ecuador. The country has rebounded strongly since the economic problems of 2007, driven by domestic demand as rising incomes create a growing, increasingly consumer-oriented middle class . Brazil is also seeing greater freedom in its export policy, which has led to strong ties with China. In fact, China surpassed the US in 2009 as the largest trading partner. While many assume that trade must be one of the biggest drivers of the economy, it actually only represents a small part of Brazil’s GDP and these exports are further diversified geographically with a low dependence on external financing and reserve accumulation. Incredibly, this has led to Brazil’s international reserves being able to cover the country’s sovereign and private external debt obligations. Read more…
SeekIng Alpha (SA): In your portfolios currently, how are you allocating among different asset classes?
David McMillan (DM): At the beginning of 2009 our biggest concerns came from a number of directions. We wanted to ensure that if the declines of the previous year continued we would be protected on the downside from further drops in portfolio values. We also needed to ensure that if we saw a dramatic recovery we could participate and generate respectable returns. It was the classic problem of trying to have low risk with solid growth, and in one of the most challenging economic periods of our time. As active managers, it wasn’t enough for us to sit on the sidelines and hope that a recovery would erase some of the losses that 2008 delivered. This led to holding a diverse mix, heavily weighted in fixed income investing, including treasuries, inflation protected bonds, corporate bonds, international bond funds, high yield bonds, commodities, and limited number of domestic and international equities (particularly in the green and clean technology areas). This saw us outperform our market benchmarks with lower risk levels. We had seen numerous opportunities within the fixed income space, and they didn’t fail to deliver. Even the higher risk fixed income investments were more attractive than most equity positions from a risk-return standpoint.
Disclosure: Caledonia and/or its principals currently hold(s) position(s) in TBT
On January 14th, Caledonia was proud to be part of a watershed moment in New York at the United Nations headquarters, where institutional investment leaders were present to construct a unified approach to the importance of a low carbon economy within the industry. Investor groups representing $13 trillion called on US Congress and other global decision makers to “take rapid action” on carbon emission limits, energy efficiency, renewable energy, financing mechanisms and other policies that will accelerate clean energy investment and job creation.
Watch the video below for a summary of the summit.
With 2010 now officially upon us, we turn our attention to what the rest of the year has in store for us. The investment world has been full of surprises over the past 12 months and it will be interesting to see how things unfold over the remainder of the year. One thing can be certain, this will be no ordinary year, and it is our bet that we will see the making of some dramatic economic shifts that will require very careful planning to avoid significant portfolio shocks. Here is the rundown of some of the key areas we will be watching closely.
Interest rate hike:
While there is still a lot of debate (and outright arguing) by the deflation vs inflation camps, it seems that we are seeing more of a swing toward at least one interest rate raise coming during 2010. The overzealous stock market recovery, a likely (though small) improvement in unemployment numbers, commodity appreciation and a very real need for the government to inflate its way out of the enormous debt burden will all be drivers.
For reference, here is a chart that shows the historical Fed Funds rate since the 1950s and how infrequent the periods of ultra low effective rates are. Read more…
A standard incandescent bulb will use almost five times the energy of an LED bulb, a German study concludes. On its face this hardly seems significant since it’s well known that an LED is about five times as efficient as an incandescent bulb from a use standpoint. However this study, conducted by Osram, looks at energy efficiency from a life cycle standpoint. This is important since it refutes the notion that the efficiency of LED bulbs is compromised by an energy intensive production process. In fact, the study finds that the primary energy used in the manufacture in an LED is less than 2% of the total energy consumed over the life of the bulb. Compelling stuff. Even mainstream media such as the NYT has been quick to publish the results.
However a closer examination of the study is revealing. While 2% may sound impressive and further the study highlights how the energy consumed in manufacture is actually less than that of an incandescent, it’s important to understand the assumptions. While it may be true to say an LED is 35% more efficient to manufacture than an incandescent, this calculation is based upon a 25,000 hour versus a 1,000 hour expected life. That a factor of 25.
ETF’s continue to be an investing favorite due to their simplicity, transparency, intra-day pricing and trading, low cost and tax efficient structure. In the past, we have often been in the position where we have had to fill allocation gaps with other investment vehicles as the ETF landscape was not yet complete in its coverage of every sector. With so many options now available, it is becoming easier and easier to get the coverage you need for a well rounded portfolio.
One such example was in the world of international fixed income, particularly at the government bond level. Domestically, there are a number of fund choices out there that cover the full spectrum of fixed income options such as treasuries, municipal and corporate bonds, high yield bonds etc. Exposure internationally has been much more limited, particularly for government rated bonds, a great shame given the yields that some governments are offering on relatively high quality bonds. Finding a safe haven in the US has been easy, but with yields of treasuries sitting at such low levels, such as the 5 year paying a 2.1% coupon, the gains are very limited. Compare that to an Australian government 5 year bond offering 6.2% coupon and the rates become much more attractive. Read more…
Roth IRA conversions are a hot topic for 2010. Many investors are heading straight for the punch bowl by converting all of their IRAs in the quest for “tax-free for life”. However the question of whether a Roth IRA conversion is suitable is very much circumstance specific and requires thoughtful (and sober) analysis first.
As it’s Earth Day, it only seems fitting to review investment opportunities that can positively impact a cleaner, greener future for the planet, our children and environment we share. One such area that is seeing an explosion of funds focusing on this space is the ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) landscape. This area has held up extremely well during these tough economic times and has seen solid investment inflows to green and clean technology companies. In fact, during 2009 this sector was the only private equity industry that showed a net gain in flows over previous annual numbers, and in terms of total investment clean energy has increased by 230% to $162 billion in 2009 over 2005 figures. Part of the appeal is that there is such enormous opportunity in so many different areas. Could this be a repeat of the .com boom of the 90s and early millennium?
As developed global markets struggle to extract themselves from the ‘great recession’, investor attention is often directed to other parts of the global economy in an effort to find other opportunities. A good amount of that focus has landed squarely on the shoulders of Brazil, and, to a lesser extent, Chile, with good reason. There is much to like about both these economies. In fact each puts some developed nations to shame when it comes to their robust fiscal, economic regulations and well managed growth over the last few years. In this multi-part series we will take a look at both separately to see what makes them an appealing investment opportunity for those that are willing to take on some risk.
A standard incandescent bulb will use almost five times the energy of an LED bulb, a German 
ETF’s continue to be an investing favorite due to their simplicity, transparency, intra-day pricing and trading, low cost and tax efficient structure. In the past, we have often been in the position where we have had to fill allocation gaps with other investment vehicles as the ETF landscape was not yet complete in its coverage of every sector. With so many options now available, it is becoming easier and easier to get the coverage you need for a well rounded portfolio.
