Green & Ethical Investment News and Suggestions

Martyn1981

Article that hopefully links well with this thread. If investing in renewables is a good idea, as explained in the article, then hopefully the risk factor is reduced. But of course that's a macro risk, not necessarily applicable to any given investment, so take care, but enjoy.

3 Reasons To Invest In Renewable Energy Now

As governments around the world ramp up stimulus packages to create jobs and reflate their economies, two things are clear: 1) We should invest in things that strengthen the health and well-being of our citizens; and 2) We must look at reducing economic and infrastructure vulnerability. Propping up old, polluting industries is not a solution.

Renewable energy, on the other hand, reduces air pollution, making people less vulnerable to disease. About 4.2 million deaths every year are linked to air pollution and exposure, while a recent Harvard analysis showed that people living in contaminated cities were more likely to die of COVID-19. It can help avoid greenhouse gas emissions and protect communities from dangerous effects of climate change. Renewable energy is the cheapest source of new power generation for more than two-thirds of the world and has no fuel costs. It can reduce the economic burden of energy bills by eliminating fuel charges — especially when coupled with energy-efficiency upgrades in our homes and businesses.

Now more than ever, it’s vital that countries put renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies at the fore to build back better after COVID-19, creating new jobs and rebooting their economies.

Coastalwatch

michaels said:

I guess what worries me is trying to avoid the dodgy self-storage/multi-storey car park type schemes that promise a high return but of course end up going bankrupt with their investors money.  Anything small and new there is plenty of room for cowboys.  Does Abundance pool risk across lots of projects?

Yes indeed, there appears risk in every sphere of life today. Just going online to make a simple one off purchase through to booking a holiday abroad, all require an element of due diligence and care before going ahead. I've found it much the same when making an investment, but possibly with due diligence applied more stringently.

When taking out our S&S ISA's there was an upfront commission to pay plus an annual management fee, paid monthly, for the duration of its life. So a not insignificant sum, with little or no control over what you might be supporting. As you suggest it's probably spread very thinly across a range of differing elements to reduce risk. Doesn't seem to have worked particularly well for us at present!

As Mart has pointed out elsewhere, with Abundance there are no commission or management fees to pay. One can invest as little as £5 into any project, so perhaps little different to many bets or stakes waged weekly, in a betting shop or on the lottery. Abundance are passionate about a green future and conduct some level of screening to any project before promoting it.

Again, this is not a recommendation, just that I have found them to be a great and affordable vehicle for supporting a green economy going forward.

For sure it's not for everybody, but would have suspected it to be of some interest to anyone subscribing to a Green and Ethical Forum.

Of course, if due diligence doesn't float your boat, or you prefer the simplicity of the National lottery, then do leave well alone and try not to worry quite so much!

Martyn1981

Could just be talk, and good intentions, but yet more pressure for a pro green response to C19.

World cannot return to 'business as usual' after Covid-19, say mayors

Mayors from many of the world’s leading cities have warned there can be no return to “business as usual” in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis if humanity is to escape catastrophic climate breakdown.

City leaders representing more than 750 million people have published a “statement of principles”, which commits them to putting greater equality and climate resilience at the heart of their recovery plans.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City and one of the signatories to the statement, said: “Half-measures that maintain the status quo won’t move the needle or protect us from the next crisis.

“We need a new deal for these times – a massive transformation that rebuilds lives, promotes equality and prevents the next economic, health or climate crisis.”

Many cities have already announced measures to support a low-carbon, sustainable recovery, from hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in Milan and Mexico City to widening pavements and pedestrianising neighbourhoods in New York and Seattle.

In London, Sadiq Khan announced plans on Wednesday to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians across the capital in an effort to encourage “green and sustainable travel” and prevent a spike in car use and pollution after the lockdown.

Oops! Wrong thread, but at least it's about investment in RE, though perhaps on a slightly larger level than my wallet can afford.

joefizz

Coastalwatch said:

Of course, if due diligence doesn't float your boat, or you prefer the simplicity of the National lottery, then do leave well alone and try not to worry quite so much!

This is the key to any investing. IIRC for the IFISA part of Abundance you have to declare what type of investor you are.
Anyone with any number of investments in Abundance will have been getting the emails from various investments with the difficulties they have either recently had or due to well lets just put it politely misunderstandings and naivete...
FWIW I was involved in P2P for years and knew it was, well not quite a ponzi scheme but not far off. Im out of all P2P with only a 6 quid loss but still have some investments in Abundance but have significantly less there than I used to. Im in the low four figures now instead of the lower mid 5 to put it in context.

The reason the interest rates on P2P are so high (or they used to be) was due to the risk involved, these are companies/individuals/councils who cant raise the money elsewhere or they would. Particularly scary are the councils asking for money, a quick bit of DD and you see who has the hand out because they spent all the previous govt investment windfall in commercial property... and we've seen how that went.

There are forums out there with more info and a network of people who live close to the projects who can go and talk to people on the ground. If you are thinking of investing and are reasonably local then go and have a look and see if you can talk to someone.

With any investment there is risk, with P2P theres a lot of risk, check the documents to see  the investment vehicle, are you investing in the company or a holding company or an umbrella company. Read the management team bios and then check them out on linkedin, facebook etc etc. Ive seen more than one facebook profile go from quite bland to lots of foreign holiday snaps after a P2P launch...

Check if the returns are grant aided as with the RHI scheme here they can be rescinded at any point with a change in policy, for example Ive mentioned on here before that the ROCs/FIT scheme isnt cast in stone and people shouldnt rely on it forever, if the government ever decides to go UBI it could be one of the casualties and along with it a lot of these schemes. All the current bailouts will have to be clawed back in some way (unless they go full MMT).

Check if the grants have been approved or just applied for, one of the recent investments has had to be cut due to this and another one has had no end of problems and if I could sell it I would.

In all of this, its about the return of the money, not the return on the money. Some of the 'investments' I wouldnt touch with a barge pole or should I say 2m rule ;-)

Martyn1981

Hiya Joe, can I ask what schemes you have had problems with?

I've been in Abundance since 2013, and only had issues with the schemes I considered higher risk. As you mention, ones that didn't have prior approval for the planned technology, such as two Monnow Valley bio-mass schemes. These make up 2.4% of my total investment plus another that has been restructured bringing the total to 3.1% of total value over 28 schemes. The rest just tick along doing what they do, with of course some seasonal and annual variance on the variable RE generation schemes I'm in.

Martyn1981

Not an investment, just some news about green investments:

Green Bonds Bring Renewable Energy To Life — What Does Your Portfolio Look Like?

ASavvyBuyer

Martyn1981 said:

I've been in Abundance since 2013, and only had issues with the schemes I considered higher risk.

I have signed up on the Abundance site and started looking at the various investments/schemes. It looks very interesting and I like the idea of supporting the green schemes. Starting slowly as I gain confidence in the process.

Can I ask if, those that have invested via Abundance, if most of your investments are from original launches or from the "market place". There seem to be a lot of sell offers in the market place, but most seem to be at a higher price than the nominal value.

Coastalwatch

Hi ASB, like you I've taken a tentative look at the Market Place but not sure I really understand the valuations or why people wish to dispose of their stock/s anyway. Maybe they are not performing as anticipated or they need to raise some cash for some unexpected reason, or simply because they enjoy the hustle of trading and making a sale(perhaps for profit, or even loss!).

I'd really already come to the conclusion that I wanted to encourage and invest in new projects only, rather than those already off the ground. It's been a little frustrating as they've been so few in recent times, although more new ones are promised. Suspect this C-19 has caused complications for any approaching publication so must just have to be patient and see what transpires.

I'd still be interested to hear views of the Market Place, if only to have a better understanding of the figures involved. It's probably quite simple if the truth be known.

joefizz

Martyn1981 said:

Hiya Joe, can I ask what schemes you have had problems with?

I've been in Abundance since 2013, and only had issues with the schemes I considered higher risk. As you mention, ones that didn't have prior approval for the planned technology, such as two Monnow Valley bio-mass schemes. These make up 2.4% of my total investment plus another that has been restructured bringing the total to 3.1% of total value over 28 schemes. The rest just tick along doing what they do, with of course some seasonal and annual variance on the variable RE generation schemes I'm in.

Those. Dont want to mention others on an open forum as a lot of it isnt available to non-investors but its interesting getting perspectives on Scottish and Welsh governments. Issues are varied from the ones you mentioned to restructuring loans and amounts to mothballing parts to bailing out when bought out and although following initial bid documentation was a bit of a cop out.

I dont invest in the long term schemes (5-7 years max for me) for all the reasons I previously mentioned and I definitely dont invest on the marketplace although have sold there. I will be selling some more that have gone from 3-5 year schemes to 17 year schemes as if I wanted to invest for 17 years Id buy a woodland (which again Im in the process of doing) or buy my own solar or batteries or tools and get the long term benefits myself.
My other p2p strategy was to hold for up to half the investment time and get rid (before defaults start showing up) but abundance was different due to the nature of the projects (until they got involved in property) and to be honest sticking the odd 500 quid here or there into certain projects to give me access to the data was worth more than the money itself so take that into consideration as well when I talk about some projects. Id planned to buy and hold most of them and see what happened. Any that have changed to long terms Ive got rid of (where possible)

edit: to add to the above Ive slowly let the total go down with the shorter term investments finishing and then not re-investing (just to explain the total invested going down over time - only about 15% of it was selling up instead of maturing).

There have been too many investor votes for my liking over the last year or so.

I am positive on abundance despite the recent offerings (expensive 'starter' homes and councils looking bailouts) but you really do need to do your due dilligence as anyone who was involved with FC/savingstream-lendy etc etc knows how this goes in the end. Like most p2p the projects showing up now arent anything like what they were 3-5-7 years ago and a little research will show why that is. Saying that though current circumstances might mean more offers (lack of available credit) or less (cbils, bounce back loans etc), too early to tell.

A little more on the market place, its where people go to liquidate what they have, apart from the one Martyn mentioned they always seem to try to sell at a premium which in most cases is kite flying by the vendors and the vast majority of offers go unsold. In a few in trouble you will see them going for 80-90% etc as people need to liquidate. I would suspect in the next wee while that a lot of people might need to liquidate and so prices might become more realistic in terms of rate of return. If buying on the marketplace be wary of dates of purchase as some investments have yearly or bi-yearly payout dates so people will take the payout and then stick up on the marketplace and you might think you are getting 5 or 10 years interest when its really 4.5 or 9 years...
I havent looked at the marketplace in a while but may do later, but always bear in mind the saying 'if you are going to panic, panic first!'

Martyn1981

joefizz said:

Martyn1981 said:

Hiya Joe, can I ask what schemes you have had problems with?

I've been in Abundance since 2013, and only had issues with the schemes I considered higher risk. As you mention, ones that didn't have prior approval for the planned technology, such as two Monnow Valley bio-mass schemes. These make up 2.4% of my total investment plus another that has been restructured bringing the total to 3.1% of total value over 28 schemes. The rest just tick along doing what they do, with of course some seasonal and annual variance on the variable RE generation schemes I'm in.

Those. Dont want to mention others on an open forum as a lot of it isnt available to non-investors but its interesting getting perspectives on Scottish and Welsh governments. Issues are varied from the ones you mentioned to restructuring loans and amounts to mothballing parts to bailing out when bought out and although following initial bid documentation was a bit of a cop out.

I dont invest in the long term schemes (5-7 years max for me) for all the reasons I previously mentioned and I definitely dont invest on the marketplace although have sold there. I will be selling some more that have gone from 3-5 year schemes to 17 year schemes as if I wanted to invest for 17 years Id buy a woodland (which again Im in the process of doing) or buy my own solar or batteries or tools and get the long term benefits myself.
My other p2p strategy was to hold for up to half the investment time and get rid (before defaults start showing up) but abundance was different due to the nature of the projects (until they got involved in property) and to be honest sticking the odd 500 quid here or there into certain projects to give me access to the data was worth more than the money itself so take that into consideration as well when I talk about some projects. Id planned to buy and hold most of them and see what happened. Any that have changed to long terms Ive got rid of (where possible)

edit: to add to the above Ive slowly let the total go down with the shorter term investments finishing and then not re-investing (just to explain the total invested going down over time - only about 15% of it was selling up instead of maturing).

There have been too many investor votes for my liking over the last year or so.

I am positive on abundance despite the recent offerings (expensive 'starter' homes and councils looking bailouts) but you really do need to do your due dilligence as anyone who was involved with FC/savingstream-lendy etc etc knows how this goes in the end. Like most p2p the projects showing up now arent anything like what they were 3-5-7 years ago and a little research will show why that is. Saying that though current circumstances might mean more offers (lack of available credit) or less (cbils, bounce back loans etc), too early to tell.

A little more on the market place, its where people go to liquidate what they have, apart from the one Martyn mentioned they always seem to try to sell at a premium which in most cases is kite flying by the vendors and the vast majority of offers go unsold. In a few in trouble you will see them going for 80-90% etc as people need to liquidate. I would suspect in the next wee while that a lot of people might need to liquidate and so prices might become more realistic in terms of rate of return. If buying on the marketplace be wary of dates of purchase as some investments have yearly or bi-yearly payout dates so people will take the payout and then stick up on the marketplace and you might think you are getting 5 or 10 years interest when its really 4.5 or 9 years...
I havent looked at the marketplace in a while but may do later, but always bear in mind the saying 'if you are going to panic, panic first!'

Thanks. TBH I've done the opposite of you, and focused the bulk of my money in the longer term schemes, perhaps 10-17yrs (originally) as they are so much safer being linked to the various government RE subsidy support schemes, and as we've learned over the years, whilst wind and solar does vary in monthly and annual generation, it's relatively stable over the medium term. I tend to avoid the very short high interest schemes eg 12% for 2yrs, as I'd guess that popping into Barclays for a cheaper rate would be easier, so that suggests there may be higher risk issues if 'they' need to go down a more complicated route like public funding via Abundance.