Quarterly Report, Q1 2020
Q1 2020 Quarterly Report: WilderHill Clean Energy Index®, March 31, 2020 The Clean Energy Index® (ECO) began 1st Quarter 2020 around 70 and it ended Q1 near 56, down -20%; but there was more to this Q1. A remarkable, volatile, exhilarating, frightening, roller coaster Q1 first had gone up sharply +30%, over 90 in mid-February, then crashed latter Q1 to below 50. Intra-day moves were abrupt: in a few hours March 24, ECO sprang up +15%. Or seen longer since 2017, when the ECO Index® was 38, last 3 years it’s risen some +55%. An independent tracking fund at start of 2017 was about 18.5, start of 2018 was about 25.5, start of 2019 was about 21.5, start of 2020 around 34 and at end of Q1 fell to around 27. ECO passively captures an emerging highly volatile theme; it thusly can & does at times also ‘drop like a rock’ – as was amply proven for instance Q1 2020. Big gains have occurred here – as well too as bigger declines. Plus we offer a mere observation: it’s counter-intuitive perhaps yet ECO’s theme has now spiked up at times in Bush II & Trump Presidencies - though neither greatly promoted green energy. Meanwhile drops were seen 8 years of an Obama Presidency that favored this sector (yet 2008-2016 was a bit singular as China undertook to enter and gain major market share in clean energy, a goal that since came to fruition). Look back last 5 years at Benchmark ECO Index®, live since 2004 & 1st for climate solutions, and it’s near nil, negligibly up a few percent.
[Show full text]