Green Investing: A Guide to Making Money through Environment-Friendly Stocks

by Jack Uldrich

Green stocks present unprecedented money-making opportunities. But in this emerging field you've got to know what you're doing. In this revised and updated edition of his essential guide to environmental stocks, financial consultant and contributor to The Motley Fool Jack Uldrich provides a roadmap to socially responsible riches. Profiling 100 leading green companies, he also zeroes in on the newest investment options in renewables--from solar and wind power to green building and fuel cells.

Green technology is more than just a passing fad--it's the next big thing for the U.S. energy industry. Don't be left behind as environmental stocks surge forward. With Jack Uldrich's help, plant the seeds of your green portfolio today and watch your bottom line grow!

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Marcus Tay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny to read this book after 10 years of its publication.

Alternative energy is still so unimpressive except for solar.

Puts things in perspective when all the big claims by GE in Ecoimagination, Virgin Richard Branson $3 billion pledge in biofuels is nothing but smoke and dust now...

The book itself?

Easy to understand but I thought I will learn much more about green investing outside of alternative energy

[Mark Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful approach to investing in clean energy

Jack - thank you for a great book and strategies in looking to invest with the current and future companies making money on the every day energy needs and use. I appreciate how you gave us things to consider in evaluating an investment and what some of the different sub categories of clean tech. I look forward to seeing how your recommendations have played out and learning/reading more of your writing.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book more than 10 years after it's published it's pretty funny. I didn't read every business description but I read the start of each chapter talking about different energy types. Other then solar becoming very popular it seems like everything else mentioned in this book hasn't seen much light of day in the last decade.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because of the timely nature of making investments, the fact that this book was published in late 2006 counts against it for specific stocks without doing further research. Of course, anyone who invests in the stock market ought to be doing their own research on specific companies anyway. It’s a shame that this book wasn’t updated, because the format makes it easy to understand the particular companies reviewed. A top bar lists contact information, large-scale investors, CEO, and trading market and symbol if public. This is followed by a description of the company, its products, size, partnerships, etc. The next section describes how to evaluate the company further before investing (did their partnership come to fruition, was the prototype successful, did their expansion lead to overspending, etc.) Finally, Ulrich gives a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or neutral rating along with his reasoning based upon 2006 conditions. Each section is wrapped up with a review of the prospects for that sector and what to look for before investing. Many private companies are listed, so that the investor can jump in on the ground floor should they go public. Both domestic and foreign companies are covered.

Technologies covered are biofuels, solar, wind power, geothermal, and more minimally wave power, fuel cells and clean coal. Interestingly enough, Uldrich also covers a few “cleantech” companies that save energy, for example by computerizing control of energy use for consumers, manufacturing superconductive wires, or by nanotechnology: the development of super-lightweight, super-conductive materials to improve grid conductivity. It’s interesting to note that Uldrich’s newer books and blogs focus upon nanotechnology, so it’s likely that this has become a profitable sector.

The author briefly addresses major players (AKA safe investments) who have invested in green energy, for example GE. There is also a chapter on green mutual funds, including how to build your own fund. The author also cites sources for current information: the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and The Economist, natch. He also lists some websites, though all but the two best don’t look current. However, tapping in to Rob Day’s and Michael Powers’ blogs looks beneficial for green investors.

Though specific information is out of date, I do recommend that beginning green investors skim through this book to get an idea of the scope of technology and investment possibilities. If some companies resonate with you, do some follow-up work on the internet or with your stockbroker. Then grab the WSJ, and/or hop over the blogs mentioned above to monitor the current trends in the green market.

[WAM WAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

jus' do it.

[Rustin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not impressed. This kind of book gets dated quickly. A book explaining technology in more detail and how to research green companies would be more useful.