Marks Three Year Anniversary:
The First Climate Change-focused Index
Returns 53% since Launch
Boston, MA, July 17, 2008 – KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. has marked the third anniversary of its Global Climate 100SM Index (GC100) – the first global index focused on solutions to climate change. The GC100 has returned 53% (15.24% annualized) from its launch on July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008. The index holds a diversified group of companies that are leaders in renewable energy, clean technology & efficiency, and future fuels.
“Over the past three years, we’ve witnessed formation of a scientific, public policy and business consensus on the need to combat global climate change. If our economy must depend less on fossil fuels, then our portfolios must do the same,” said Thomas Kuh, Managing Director of KLD Indexes. “Renewable energy is part of the answer, but energy conservation and pollution prevention are also essential. The GC100 looks for opportunities on all these fronts.”
The GC100 includes companies who make promising energy-saving products, such as “smart” electric meters and superconductors, as well as alternative energy stocks.
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KLD Global Climate 100: Holdings and Top Performers
The GC100 holds leading companies in the climate solutions value chain, including small, pure-play firms like Novozymes and GS Yuasa as well as large diversified companies, like Siemens and General Electric. The Index is equal weighted to ensure that investors benefit from these innovative companies regardless of their size.
“As the following chart shows, the holdings in the GC100 are positioned to profit from the trend toward de-carbonization of the economy in response to climate change,” said GC100 Index Manager Jed Sturman. “As the price of oil has soared, GC100 constituent stocks like Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark and SolarWorld of Germany have shown strong returns; smaller firms such as Conergy, Solon, and American Superconductor have also performed well.”
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KLD created the GC100 in partnership with the Global Energy Network Institute, a research organization that seeks to build connections among the world’s energy systems, with an emphasis on renewable energy resources. “In the energy sector, we get what we invest in. If we want a cleaner, more sustainable world in the future, we need to invest in climate solutions today,” said Peter Meisen of GENI.
KLD Global Climate 100: Methodology and Index Performance
The GC100 includes a mix of 100 global companies that will provide near-term solutions to global warming while offsetting the longer-term impacts of climate change. GC100 constituent companies include producers and distributors of:
Renewable Energy, such as solar and wind;
Future Fuels, such as biofuels and hydrogen; and
Clean Technology & Efficiency, such as technologies and services that help to reduce energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases.
The GC100’s constituent companies include large-, mid-, and small-capitalization companies representing sectors ranging from energy and utilities to industrials and consumer products. This broad focus distinguishes the GC100 from other carbon-sensitive investment strategies that include only energy and utility stocks. The GC100 is an equal weighted index, which means that KLD allocates a 1% weight to each of its 100 constituents. This increases the GC100’s exposure to small-capitalization companies and ensures that investors benefit from innovative companies who are poised for growth.
The GC100 has returned 57 percent (17.23% annualized) since index launch, as of 5/31/08. The same constituents under a market cap weight would have returned 39 percent (12.54% annualized). As explained by Peter Meisen of GC100 partner GENI: “It just makes good business sense to reduce one's dependence on fossil fuels – for investors as well as companies.”
KLD Global Climate 100: Licensees and Investment Products
The GC100 serves as the basis for an assortment of investment products including:
Institutional and Separate Accounts
Northern Trust • USA
Shinko ITM • Japan
Mutual Funds
Shinko ITM • Japan
Chikyu Ondanka Boushi Kanrenkabu Fund I (06312066:JP)
Chikyu Ondanka Boushi Kanrenkabu Fund II (06311077: JP)
Chikyu Ondanka Boushi Kanrenkabu Fund PLUS
Cominvest Asset Management • Germany
Cominvest Klima Aktien PLUS (WKN: A0MSTB)
Unit Investment Trust
Advisors Asset Management • USA
KLD Global Climate 100 Index Portfolio, Series III (ADTKFX)
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About KLD Indexes
KLD Indexes is a unit of KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., a leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research for institutional investors. KLD Indexes develops and licenses benchmark, strategy and custom indexes that investment managers use to integrate ESG criteria into their investment decisions. KLD Indexes are designed to be transparent, representative and investable.
Products based on KLD Indexes include:
Mutual Funds
ETFs
Separately Managed Accounts
Unit Investment Trusts
Variable Annuities
Structured Products
More than $10.5 billion is invested in vehicles based on KLD Indexes. For more information about KLD’s indexes visit http://www.kldindexes.com/
For information about licensing a KLD index for the creation of an investment product, please email indexes@kld.com
Contact:
Amy Blumenthal/Karen Myers
Blumenthal & Associates
617-879-1511
Peter Ellsworth
KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.
617-426-5270 x218
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