Alternative Outlook

Investors are being given the opportunity to back a boom in British wind power.

It is a long-term punt that demand for alternative energy will deliver on the hype and, in the short-term, that the wind keeps blowing.
The management at investment company Triodos Renewables admit its returns weren’t so hot last year simply because it was one of the worst years on record for wind. If it’s turbines turn more slowly, the company, quite simply, makes less money for its backers.

But there is enormous expectation that wind power will…

Concerns around the long-term ability of the US to repay its debt is only one of the factors fuelling the rally in the price of gold, according to Investec Asset Management’s Bradley George.

US debt concerns are coming to a head as politicians struggle to agree on deficit reduction measures in return for a higher debt ceiling before the 2 August.

Investec’s manager of the Global Gold fund said if the gold rally is at least partly based on long-term credit concerns, then the long-term view for the precious metal is still positive,…

Two new moves announced today are expected to attract significant new investment into UK tree planting projects designed to help combat climate change.

Planting new forests and woodland helps to counteract the greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas. As trees grow they capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store the carbon as wood and organic matter, whilst releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere. Commercial interest in investing in tree planting for carbon capture in this way…

UK private investor syndicator Hotbed has completed its second investment in Scottish renewable energy company Burcote Wind, reaching its target of £5.7m.

The Dunfermline-based company specialises in onshore wind energy opportunites in Scotland, identifying sites and developing them to planning permission stage. It currently has options or exclusivity agreements in eight sites with a combined potential generating capacity of over 400MW, capable of powering around 300,000 homes.

‘Government energy targets make the investment case fo…

As the demand ethical, socially responsible investments continues to increase, GreenWorld BVI has responded by bringing a carbon credits investment offering to the retail market.

GreenWorld BVI’s carbon credit investment focuses on a 50,000 hectare project in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, and is directly connected to the Gola rainforest (www.golarainforest.org), an internationally recognized area of bio-diversity and the largest lowland closed canopy rainforest remaining in Sierra Leone.

The minimum investment in the pr…

Fergus Fung swipes his card across a sensor and waits as his face is scanned by a computer to match his profile. A steel door opens and the Hong Kong entrepreneur enters a vault that holds his treasure of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

This is the Hong Kong Wine Vault, one of more than 15 repositories that have been set up in the past three years in the Chinese city as it overtook London and New York as the world’s biggest auction market for top wine labels like Chateau Lafite, Domaine Romanée-Conti and Krug. The temperature is a constant 13 Cels…

The Bordeaux Index returned 14pc in the first six-months of the year compared to the FTSE100 return of just 1pc.

Investors in fine wine have enjoyed steady gains of over 13pc during the first six months of the year. Bordeaux continues to dominate the fine wine market, accounting for over 70pc of turnover by volume and nearly 85pc by value.

“The health of the wine market in general is reinforced by the fact that Q1 sales rose 15%,” said Gary Boom, founder and MD of fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index.

“Asia remains …

Precious metal hits $1,600 (£995) an ounce, an 8% rise since the start of July..

Jitters over the eurozone debt crisis and the US debt ceiling drove the gold price through the $1,600 (£995) an ounce mark for the first time. Monday capped a record breaking rally – 11 straight days of gains

“Gold hit another milestone… at $1,600 as investors lose confidence in the ability of politicians to get a grip with the debt problems weighing down on sentiment,” said Michael Hewson from CMC Markets, a trading group.

“More advances look likel…

After writing about Forestry as a good alternative a couple of months ago, I wanted to focus in on one particular branch (pardon the pun) of forestry investment – Bamboo.

Why is Bamboo Different?

Forestry is a great investment that beats inflation, has a green halo and is supported by the worlds growing demand for timber. The problem is that by its very nature, forestry is just about the most illiquid investment you can make. Investors may see interim returns when plantations are thinned, but the real profit is once the fully mature tre…

The World Gold Council today releases its Gold Investment Digest, analysing the current economic and financial drivers of the global gold market. The Q2 2011 report shows that gold outperformed most major assets, including commodities, throughout the quarter. In addition, gold’s low average volatility of 13.4% for the quarter is well below its long-term 20-year average of 15.8%.

Juan Carlos Artigas, Investment Research Manager at the World Gold Council, commented: “While commodities exhibited heightened levels of volatility and sharp…