The transition to renewable energy has been a topic of conversation for decades, but only recently has the discussion entered the mainstream.
In the upcoming webcast, Keeping it Clean: Renewable Energy in Your Portfolio, Ron Pernick, Founder and Managing Director, Clean Edge, Inc.; and Ryan Issakainen, Senior Vice President and Exchange-Traded Fund Strategist, First Trust, will explore the wide-reaching impacts of the clean energy revolution.
As a way to capture the growing opportunity in the renewable energy space, investors can look to assets like the First Trust/Clean Edge Smart Grid ETF (NasdaqGM: GRID). GRID seeks to reflect the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index, which includes companies engaged in all components of the smart grid.
Smart grid technologies will play pivotal roles in the electric vehicle and energy storage equations, putting GRID investors at the epicenter of disruptive booms. GRID includes domestic and international stocks and allocates 80% of its portfolio to “pure plays” (companies that derive the majority of their revenue from smart grid, electric infrastructure, and/or other grid-related activities), and 20% to more diversified contributors to the grid modernization and smart grid market.
Other funds like the First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN) can provide targeted plays on specific clean energy segments. FAN components are identified as providing goods and services exclusively to the wind energy industry.
Additionally, the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (NasdaqGM: QCLN) provides a broader play on the green energy industry. QCLN seeks investment results that correspond generally to the equity index called the NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index. The index is designed to track the performance of small-, mid-, and large-capitalization clean energy companies that are publicly traded in the United States.
Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about renewable energy investments can register for the Wednesday, April 7 webcast here.