Business Features Smart Grid Required for India’s Solar Plan

Business Features Smart Grid Required for India’s Solar Plan
The government of India is planning to tap the most talked about solar rooftop segment potential (estimated at 92.7GW) in a big way, adding at least 1000MW capacity by 2017. This will be done by integrating a central subsidy plan under phase 2 of National Solar Mission with initiatives being taken at the state level. In reality, India’s power success story is hindered by limited, inefficient (technically and operationally) and poorly managed grid infrastructure.

100,000 villages in India are not connected to grid and 400 million people don’t have access to reliable electricity. Those having access to electricity, face frequent power cuts and low power quality in their daily lives. On the commercial side, a number of industrial associations from Faridabad to Chennai, are ailing due to the irregular power supply, which is affecting businesses.

According to the Ministry of power, currently transmission and distribution losses in India are among the highest in the world with an average at about 30.14% and including non-technical losses such as theft, the average stands at 50%. Due to the rising power deficit year over year, India faces the biggest blackout ever. The Solar Rooftop Plan seems to be a plausible solution, which may largely improve power accessibility, overcome transmission and distribution losses problem, and shrink the demand and supply gap.

KPMG forecasts that rooftop solar capacity to be 4000 MW by 2017 and rooftop power will see parity much earlier by 2014 because of rapidly falling module prices and the rise in the cost of conventional power due to fuel shortages.

The role of the smart meter

In India smart metering technology plays a very important role for grid interactive solar rooftops. Interval metering for the FiT arrangement is quite popular, although another option for net metering is being assessed. In net metering, the smart meter communicates in a two-way fashion by registering the power taken from the grid and power fed into the grid and finally giving the net balance of power use. Net metering is essentially supported by upfront capital subsidy (feeding excess power fed into grid is purchased at conventional power prices) or through generation based incentive.

Commercial and industrial consumers, who already pay high commercial tariffs, face problems in their business operations due to power shortages and currently meet their shortage using costly power from backup diesel generators. Hence, solar rooftop power used primarily for captive consumption with the GBI incentive, renewable energy certificates or capital subsidy on equipment will be viable investments. On the residential side, however, payback time can be a disincentive. As per financial analysis done by Hari Manoharan, a consultant with RESolve Energy Consultants, for residential rooftops based on GBI scheme in Tamil Nadu, payback of Rs. 56,000 over 16 years will be observed based on various assumptions. To make solar on residential rooftops more appealing, financial incentives must be much more attractive.

Technical issues to be addressed

The main technical issues to be addressed for off-grid systems will be correct sizing by the installer and proper installation by the local work force in off-grid areas. Also, there needs to be proper standardization for indigenous equipment such as the battery and inverters used in systems.

“Smart metering for solar system integration with grid will take a lot of time to be accepted since people see solar power as a solution for frequent power cuts in India” says Giridaran Srinivasan, Project Engineer, RESolve Energy Consultants. He adds that unstable grids across various states in India (where power failures are frequent) don’t accept decentralised renewable energy power and make net metering impossible during power cuts as grid tie inverters disconnect immediately when a grid failure occurs.

During power cuts, the owners can only use solar power by using off grid changeover switch or hybrid inverters (expensive hence used for large rooftops), although they are forced to consume all the power themselves, which is not always feasible, hence it is always good to have a battery backup for evening and night power requirements, which will also be helpful during blackouts and emergencies.

Regulation required

All of the segments under discussion for solar rooftops rely significantly on diesel generators for meeting their power needs during power cuts in India. The government needs to consider making regulations for prohibiting the use of diesel generators. Consumers will then look at solar as only suitable alternative (with no noise and air pollution).

India is on the way to tap the most potential segment in solar sector as recognized by solar experts. Various stakeholders must work upon for making the solar rooftops technically robust for the Indian grid. The policies launched at state and central level need to be fine-tuned to make the investments viable along with necessary regulations, which will expedite the adoption of this cleaner source of power and put more power into the hands of the Indian consumer.

Award-Winning PV Cell Could Stride Toward 50% Efficiency

Award-Winning PV Cell Could Stride Toward 50% Efficiency

In their quest for progressively efficient photovoltaic devices, scientists in the III-V Multijunction Photovoltaics Group at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have been trying to prevail over the solar spectrums boundaries and unchanging rules since the 1990s, when they began their search for easy-to-grow materials with ideal band gaps.

In 2012, NREL and its industry partner, Solar Junction, defeated those solar rules so well they won an R&D 100 award from R&D Magazine for a world-record three-layered multijunction solar cell — the SJ3 — with 43.5% efficiency at 415 suns, as Solar Novus Today reported. Now, NREL has verified that record was outshone when a SJ3 cell reached 44% efficiency at 947 suns.

In concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) in particlular, cell efficiency has proven to be a powerful lever to drive down the cost of solar electricity and, thus, propelling the technology forward. “We have seen in the past that improvements in multijunction cell efficiency have catalyzed the introduction of new CPV systems companies and innovative approaches to lowering CPV costs,” says Daniel Friedman, manager of the NREL III-V Multijunction Photovoltaics Group. “I would anticipate the present  improvements in cell efficiency, as well as future improvements, to have a comparable catalyzing effect on the industry.”

According to NREL, with inventions such as the ultra-high-efficiency SJ3 cell, CPV technology could provide enough electrical energy to supply the entire US many times over. But what would have to happen for such a cogent clean energy solution to become reality? “Such an ambitious goal is very complex and involves more than just photovoltaics,” Friedman points out, referencing a recent NREL study that tackles big-picture questions on what large-scale renewables adoption could look like. “One component of this is to lower the cost of photovoltaics, and that is what the improved CPV cell efficiencies drive towards.”

Cost and long-term reliability remain major challenges on the path to more widespread implementation of CPV power systems. Friedman affirms this current research successfully addresses both. “This achievement [of the world-record 44%-efficient SJ3 cell] stands on the shoulders of several decades of R&D in multijunction photovoltaics,” the NREL researcher says. It was NREL's pioneering multijunction work that ultimately led to the Solar Junction SJ3 solar cell with tunable bandgaps, lattice-matched architecture and ultra-concentrated tunnel junctions.The Lab predicts there could be a 50%-efficient cell in the near future. “There are several multijunction approaches that have pathways to near-50% efficiencies. The SJ3 is one such, and the Inverted Metamorphic Multijunction approach is another,” Friedman reports. “In both cases, a key step towards near-50% efficiencies is the addition of a fourth junction with approximately 0.7 eV bandgap under the existing three-junction structures.” Furthermore, he believes it possible to enhance the performance of the existing junctions by careful analysis and improvement of their optoelectronic properties.

As solar researcher, Friedman’s outlook for solar energy is positive. “The multijunction solar cell field is in the midst of an exciting renaissance, where great strides are being made in the fundamental understanding of the subtleties of the device operation and in the application of this understanding towards obtaining higher-performance devices. I'm looking forward to continuing to work in the multijunctions field during these times,” the scientist concludes.

Renewable Energy Outlook Uncertain

Ernst & Young released its quarterly Country Attractiveness Indices report (CAI) for renewable energy today. There are some quite interesting observations regarding the state of and projections for renewable energy (and specific renewable energy sectors) within the report, but the ranking of the top countries in the index remains the same:

Renewable Energy Outlook Uncertain

With all kinds of economic struggles and uncertainty in Europe, the 2012 outlook for renewable energy in the region is not as bright as in 2011.

“The sovereign debt crisis continues to stifle renewable energy investment in the Eurozone, along with Governments scaling back their ambitions for the sector,” Ernst & Young writes.

“Simultaneously capital scarcity and increased competition from Asia will continue to put pressure on developed markets for the foreseeable future.”

“Early indications for 2012 are that it will be more challenging for stakeholders, with mature markets getting softer due to continued liquidity constraints and the ongoing withdrawal of government incentives,” Gil Forer, Ernst & Young’s Global Cleantech Leader, says.

“The perfect storm of Basel III, banking downgrades and Eurozone instability has increased the underlying costs to banks of lending, especially long-term,” Ben Warren, Ernst & Young’s Energy and Environmental Finance Leader, summarizes.

“With Basel III to be fully implemented by 2019 we feel it is likely that there will be further impacts on costs of bank funding from the legislation during 2012 and therefore additional increases in margins and reducing availability of long-term bank debt.”

Renewable Energy in Asia Still Hot… but Complicated

“However within emerging markets we continue to witness growth in the levels of capacity, as energy security concerns and demand for jobs drive increased government commitments to renewable energy,” Forer notes.

But the researchers find a mix of increasing solar energy targets and underdeveloped grid infrastructure that limits usefulness of new wind power projects.

US Wind Support Now Gone

As you well know, US policy support for the wind industry, especially in the case of the Production Tax Credit (PTC), has dropped off a cliff at the federal level, leaving the industry worse off than it was in 2011. 2012, thus, is looking to be a less exciting year for renewable energy fans in the US.

Germany on the Line

Germany has been a solar powerhouse for years now. But proposed changes to its feed-in tariff program for solar that are on the table right now could have a dramatic and negative effect on that industry.

“The German solar photovoltaic (PV) market expanded in 2011 with more than 7GW installed, but if currently proposed reductions and restrictions in photovoltaic (PV) feed in tariffs pass the German government in March, this would significantly suppress market activity in 2012 and beyond,” Ernst & Young note.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) May Be Ready for a Growth Spurt

Despite waning and uncertain renewable energy support from the leaders mentioned above, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region offers up a bit of relief, as it looks set to start booming (as reported here on CleanTechnica a few times this year).

“An abundance of solar and wind resources are expected to attract a significant amount of investment in the short to medium term, particularly in more economic and politically stable markets. Many countries in the region are seeking to significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy in their generation mix as they look to diversify their predominantly hydrocarbon fuel supply and to meet the ever-increasing consumer demand.”

Consolidation Inevitable

As written here on CleanTechnica several times in the past several months, consolidation within maturing renewable energy sectors (especially solar) make consolidation of cleantech companies inevitable. Company mergers and acquisitions are likely to continue to a high degree throughout 2012.

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Source: Ernst & Young | Renewable Energy Girl via shutterstock

generally growth oriented managers

generally growth oriented managers
While we are generally growth oriented managers, we also in 2012 had good reason to believe that many of our holdings represent excellent values. As of December 31st 2012, 66 of our 80 holdings were trading below the average (1979 to present) price to book ratio of the S&P 500 index.  Our average price to book was 1.45, compared to 2.27 for the S&P 500.

Finally, a compelling argument, if we needed one, for hastening the transition to an economy that can persist and even thrive in a warming world was recently articulated by the World Economic Forum at Davos. "On the economic front, global resilience is being tested by bold monetary and austere fiscal policies. On the environmental front, the Earth's resilience is being tested by rising global temperatures and extreme weather events that are likely to become more frequent and severe. A sudden and massive collapse on one front is certain to doom the other's chances of developing an effective, long-term solution." In other words, we need to get the economy on a sustainable footing before it comes unraveled. Given the imperative of this reality, we have difficulty imagining a near-future scenario where the best next economy companies don’t become the most important to society and subsequently, potentially the best performing.

The decisions we make as an interconnected global civilization now will be the difference between catastrophe and a thriving society with a healthy economy. Given the stakes, we have no doubts about how to place our bets.

Thanks for your continued support of Green Alpha Advisors and investing in the next economy.

Green Alpha Advisors' Annual Client Letter and Portfolio Commentary

Green Alpha Advisors' Annual Client Letter and Portfolio Commentary

Garvin Jabusch and Jeremy Deems
2012 saw a return to positive performance for the next economy and for markets overall. Generally, global economic conditions, as indicated by some jobs growth, slowly improving industrial output and a housing rebound, improved marginally, but debt crises in Europe and America, exacerbated by eternal dithering, gamesmanship and posturing by politicians and other policy makers on both continents, kept optimism in check and moderated expectations for growth. With respect to the next economy, though, growth and expectations for growth began showing real signs of building momentum as mainstream awareness of the need ensure the longevity of the world economy by changing some of its foundations continued to advance. Thus our ‘next economy’ macroeconomic thesis became still more relevant and closer to fruition.

The basic macroeconomics of the next economy thesis are fundamental, and their essentials don’t change over time.  As we wrote in last year's letter: “Earth’s economies may stagnate or grow; either way, we believe things like renewable energy, clean transportation, sustainable infrastructure and water resources must grow in value. Over time, the value of stocks in our models will not be dependent on Wall Street gamesmanship, but on simple necessity. As awareness of the magnitude of our growing resource-climate-security problems advances, so will the valuations of our portfolio companies.” Even as chronic fiscal imbalances distract world leaders’ attention from climate and resource challenges, business, individual and institutional investors, academia, think tanks and research all are addressing the latter at an ever accelerating pace.

Thus we continue to be very optimistic about our potential to provide competitive long term returns performance to our portfolio shareholders. Essentially, Green Alpha Advisors is an asset manager offering portfolios of stocks in companies with proven business plans responding to the challenges presented by a warming, increasingly populous, resource-constrained world. Portfolios of these companies deliver growth in all sectors including transportation, communications, commerce, infrastructure, materials, energy, agriculture and water. Considering:

I. The world’s population is growing fast, but its resources aren’t,

II. Energy security and national security depend upon the U.S. minimizing use of foreign oil,

III. The fossil-fuels based economy, with its digging, burning, scarring of the landscape, disruption of ecology, and disease causing pollution, is ultimately too expensive to maintain, and

IV. Climate change,

it’s clear the time is past due for serious investment in mitigation and adaptation, and indeed the signs that people and institutions are getting that are becoming omnipresent.

Each of the three Green Alpha portfolios saw a positive return for 2012. Our flagship green economy benchmark, the Green Alpha Next Economy Index (or GANEX) returned 4.21%; our Sierra Club Green Alpha portfolio (SCGA), actively managed and more concentrated than the GANEX, returned 6.79%; and our newest portfolio, the Green Alpha Growth and Income Portfolio (GAGIP), was up 6.96% for the partial year from its inception on October 8th, 2012.  While we are happy to return to positive performance after a tough year for next economy stocks in 2011, we did nevertheless underperform the legacy fossil-fuels based indices; the S&P 500 was up 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned 7.26% in 2012. All three of our portfolios did however outperform prominent green economy ETF portfolios (see discussion below).

All Green Alpha portfolios are based on our universe of next economy companies, with individual securities and weights selected to best fit the mandate of each portfolio. We’re especially pleased that December 30th 2012 saw the fourth anniversary of the inception of the GANEX, reflecting a four year track record milestone measuring the growth and progress of the overall next economy. (On the topic of portfolios, look for an exciting announcement from us later in Q1 regarding our fourth and newest portfolio offering that will greatly enhance our ability to serve current and future clients.)

On the securities level, we saw once again in 2012 the importance of diversification across all sectors of the next economy. We find it hard to overemphasize this point: the post fossil fuels economy is emerging in all sectors, so to invest as though renewable energy (as critical as it is) is the only aspect of a green economy is shortsighted and results in high volatility. Attempting to represent the entirety of the next economy, our Green Alpha Next Economy Index (GANEX) is invested in 27 sectors and 52 sub-sectors, spanning, we believe, nearly everything required for a broad-based economic system to function. Reviewing GANEX’s top five 2012 total return performers gives some indication of its diversification:

Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI), 63.98%. Badger makes water meters, “flow measurement and control solutions” for farming, commercial, utility and residential applications. The U.S. drought of 2012 (and continuing) has brought the need for smarter, more productive water management into sharp focus. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
Trex Company, Inc. (TREX), 62.51%.  Trex is the world's largest manufacturer of high performance wood-alternative decking. We consider Trex a prime example of waste-to-value economics that not only keeps huge quantities of waste out of landfills and oceans (Trex used 3.1 billion plastic bags in 2010, participates in a system responsible for 70% of all U.S. plastic bag recycling, and has never harvested a single tree to make its product), but also delivers a superior product with better long term value. In a world of constrained resources, making great stuff from leftovers is the best of all worlds.
Cree, Inc. (CREE), 54.17%. Cree is a leading developer of high efficiency LED lighting and systems and semiconductors for radio frequency applications. Cree LEDs can provide illumination as efficiently as 200 lumens per Watt, compared to 14½ lumens per Watt of a 60W incandescent bulb. This translates to big savings in energy and money, and is a straightforward example of one of our primary themes, focusing on innovation in economic efficiencies – getting more output out of less input.
Valmont Industries, Inc. (VMI), 51.03%. Valmont Industries provides critical infrastructure such as efficient mechanized poles and towers for wind turbines, lighting, communications and more. In 2012, VMI gave our portfolios exposure to the infrastructure aspects multiple trends such as the booming mobile and mobile web markets as well as the growing wind energy sector without the risk associated with an individual turbine manufacturer. Full disclosure, for valuation reasons, we removed Valmont from our portfolios as of year-end 2012.
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN), 47.9%. Hain Celestial is a leader in natural and organic food that vertically integrates manufacturing, marketing sales and distribution. We think of Hain as a macroeconomic bet on efforts of people to improve their individual health, and also on efforts at a policy and advocacy level to manage mushrooming and economically destructive escalation in healthcare costs. In addition, from a long-term agricultural management point of view, we think that that industry’s ever more potent pesticides, herbicides and petroleum based fertilizers will prove so deleterious to human health, land productivity and biosphere health that organic methods will continue to increase in popularity, and may one day even be required.
From the standpoint of our next economy sector classification scheme (NESC), the top performing Industry and Sector in the GANEX Portfolio was the Products (Industry), Capital Goods & Equipment (Sector), with Portfolio exposure of 16.11%.

The chart below shows the performance of the GANEX, from its inception on December 30, 2008 to the end of 2012, versus two prominent green exchange traded funds, the Guggenheim Solar portfolio (TAN, in gold here), and the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW, the black line). Over this period, the GANEX returned 28.15%, while the TAN was -79.22% and PBW performance was -46.68%. To be clear, GANEX differs significantly from these other two. TAN is a basket of exclusively solar and solar-related stocks, and PBW, though not as sector focused as TAN, is limited primarily (but not exclusively) to renewable energy. GANEX by contrast attempts to capture the entirety of the next economy, including renewable energy and solar, but also everything else we’ll need to have a thriving economic system, including, again, transportation, communications, commerce, infrastructure, materials, energy, agriculture, water and more. So while the comparison with these two may not be exact, we believe it does show the importance of careful diversification into all areas of the emerging green economy.

GE Energy Financial Services

GE Energy Financial Services announced today it has more than doubled its global solar power investment commitments in the past year to US $1.4 billion, for nearly US $5 billion in projects. Its latest deal is a US $100 million investment in a 127-megawatt project that will be built in Arizona.

GE announced at the Infocast Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit in San Diego that its 1-gigawatt portfolio spans 48 solar power plants—including 24 San Diego school rooftops—in six countries: Australia, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United States.

GE’s latest investment is in LS Power’s US $550 million Arlington Valley Solar Energy II project, a crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar farm whose construction is expected to begin next month near Arlington, Arizona. Converting sunlight into electricity, the solar power project—located on approximately 1,160 acres—will provide enough clean, affordable energy to power approximately 53,000 California homes and displace 215,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to taking 38,000 cars off the road. When operational at the end of 2013, San Diego Gas & Electric will buy the power from the plant, which also will help California meet its target of generating 33% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Fluor Corporation designed, is building and will operate and maintain the solar farm.

In 2011, GE agreed to invest in a 50MW portfolio of solar PV farms in Canada, a 10MW solar PV project in Australia, a 550MW solar PV project in the United States, and a 20MW solar PV power plant atop a greenhouse in Italy. In addition to these and other direct investments in solar projects, GE has made venture investments in solar energy technology companies, as well as in the Spain-based solar project developer and operator FRV. Overall, the GE unit has made more than US $8 billion in renewable energy commitments globally, including solar, wind, biomass, hydro and geothermal power assets.

News for solar power invest

It almost doesn’t make sense…
Last year, Germany, the United States, Italy and the U.K. all installed a record number of solar panels in their respective countries.
In fact, Germany installed more solar panels in December than the United States did in all of 2009.
Yet solar stocks were blindsided by investors in 2011. Top firms like First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) fell as much as 80% during the year. Many others fell more than 50%.
What happened?
As our own energy guru David Fessler explained last week:
“Polysilicon prices have collapsed 90% in the last five years. By the end of 2011, they were halved to $0.90 per watt.”

This epic price collapse, coupled with the fact that manufacturers had ramped up production, sent most solar manufacturers plummeting.
Today, most investors see the huge sell-off as a reason to steer clear of solar stocks. But these crash-level prices have also created a number of opportunities to scoop up great companies at deep discounts.
A Solar Comeback

In addition to being undervalued, there are three more reasons 2012 is set to be a banner year for solar stocks…
Record low prices boosting global demand: Some analysts worry a supply glut will continue suppressing solar stocks in 2012. Yet solar’s new low prices are sending demand for solar products much higher. Demand is expected to jump in the United States, Europe and Asia this year. China is poised to double its solar capacity for the second year in a row, 4 to 5 GW. Not to mention, solar is also quickly becoming a viable solution for the 1.3 billion people around the world with no access to grid energy.
Solar is more efficient than Ever: On top of record low polysilicon prices, solar efficiency is also making leaps and bounds. According to MIT’s Technology Review, conventional silicon solar panels typically convert less than 15% of light. Yet a startup out of North Carolina, Semprius, just tested its solar panels and scored a 33.9% efficiency rating. This is the first time ever any solar module has been able to convert more than one-third of the sunlight that falls on it into electricity. And it makes solar energy generation look much more promising for the future.
Big investors are getting involved: Even though government subsidies are set to wind down over the next few years in Europe and the United States for solar, big investors are already picking up the slack. Berkshire Hathaway owned MidAmerican Energy Holdings announced in December it purchased a solar farm in Southern California for $2 billion. Google reported it invested over $450 million last year as well in solar projects. GE announced in 2011 that it’s going to build the largest solar plant in America, capable of powering 80,000 homes each year. Billions of dollars more is expected to flood this market over the coming months.
The Solar ETF That Covers it All

There’s no doubt, the solar industry is set to grow immensely over the coming years. But tariffs, expected consolidation, and the steady removal of government subsidies make it hard to tell who is and isn’t set to profit.
Perhaps the easiest way to invest in solar today is simply looking to an ETF like the Global Solar Index ETF (NYSE: TAN). This fund is currently comprised of 33 securities all relative to solar energy. About a third of its holdings are in the United States, a third is in China and the rest is spread out between Europe and Canada.

Invest quotes

Invest quotes

Warren Buffett Quotes On Investing

I was searching the entire web for some of the famous quotes by Warren Buffett (Warren Buffet). I don’t know how many I’ve read. But I would like to share with you 79 of them which I find interesting and which makes sense. If you are an investor then it’s a must read! And feel free to comment below if I’d missed something! Happy Investing!

‘Never invest in a business you cannot understand.’

‘Always invest for the long term.’

‘Buy a business, don’t rent stocks.’

‘Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.’

‘I really like my life. I’ve arranged my life so that I can do what I want.’

‘We will only do with your money what we would do with our own.’

‘If you don’t feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don’t own it for 10 minutes.’

‘I am a better investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an investor.’

‘Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.’

‘The Stock Market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient.’

‘Stop trying to predict the direction of the stock market, the economy, interest rates, or elections.’

‘I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for ten years.’

‘I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.’

‘For some reason, people take their cues from price action rather than from values. What doesn’t work is when you start doing things that you don’t understand or because they worked last week for somebody else. The dumbest reason in the world to buy a stock is because it’s going up.’

‘We don’t get paid for activity, just for being right. As to how long we will wait, we’ll wait indefinitely.’

‘As Buffet said in the speech, “He’s not looking at quarterly earnings projections, he’s not looking at next year’s earnings, he’s not thinking about what day of the week it is, he doesn’t care what investment research from any place says, he’s not interested in price momentum, volume or anything. He’s simply asking: What is the business worth?’

‘Buy companies with strong histories of profitability and with a dominant business franchise.’

‘Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can’t buy what is popular and do well.’

‘When asked how he became so successful in investing, Buffett answered: ‘we read hundreds and hundreds of annual reports every year.’

‘When a management team with a reputation for brilliance joins a business with poor fundamental economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.’

‘Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise.  Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices.’

‘Diversification is a protection against ignorance. It makes very little sense for those who know what they’re doing.’

‘Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.’

‘You’re neither right nor wrong because other people agree with you. You’re right because your facts are right and your reasoning is right – that’s the only thing that makes you right. And if your facts and reasoning are right, you don’t have to worry about anybody else.’

‘It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.’

‘The first rule is not to lose. The second rule is not to forget the first rule.’

‘Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.’

‘I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.’

‘Why not invest your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, ‘Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.’

‘Our favorite holding period is forever.’

‘Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.’

‘Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.’

‘Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market.’

‘The critical investment factor is determining the intrinsic value of a business and paying a fair or bargain price.’

‘Investors making purchases in an overheated market need to recognize that it may often take an extended period for the value of even an outstanding company to catch up with the price they paid.’

‘Risk can be greatly reduced by concentrating on only a few holdings.’

‘It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.’

‘An investor should ordinarily hold a small piece of an outstanding business with the same tenacity that an owner would exhibit if he owned all of that business.’

‘Great investment opportunities come around when excellent companies are surrounded by unusual circumstances that cause the stock to be misappraised.’

‘In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.’

‘If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.’

‘Cash never makes us happy, but it’s better to have the money burning a hole in Berkshire’s pocket than resting comfortably in someone else’s.’

‘A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.’

‘I never buy anything unless I can fill out on a piece of paper my reasons. I may be wrong, but I would know the answer to that. “I’m paying $32 billion today for the Coca Cola Company because.” If you can’t answer that question, you shouldn’t buy it. If you can answer that question, and you do it a few times, you’ll make a lot of money.’

‘The investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth.’

‘You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.’

‘It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.’

‘You ought to be able to explain why you’re taking the job you’re taking, why you’re making the investment you’re making, or whatever it may be. And if it can’t stand applying pencil to paper, you’d better think it through some more. And if you can’t write an intelligent answer to those questions, don’t do it.’

‘Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.’

‘An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes.’

‘Do a lot of reading’ (On how to determine the value of a business)

‘The investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth.’

‘Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.’

‘The fact that people will be full of greed, fear, or folly is predictable. The sequence is not predictable.’

‘You do things when the opportunities come along. I’ve had periods in my life when I’ve had a bundle of ideas come along, and I’ve had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I’ll do something. If not, I won’t do a damn thing.’

‘Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.’

‘I do not like debt and do not like to invest in companies that have too much debt, particularly long-term debt. With long-term debt, increases in interest rates can drastically affect company profits and make future cash flows less predictable.’

‘We will reject interesting opportunities rather than over-leverage our balance sheet.’

‘I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.’

‘Turnarounds seldom turn.’

‘If at first you do succeed, quit trying on investing.’

‘I don’t measure my life by the money I’ve made. Other people might, but certainly don’t.’

‘Anything can happen in stock markets and you ought to conduct your affairs so that if the most extraordinary events happen, that you’re still around to play the next day.’

‘You shouldn’t own common stocks if a 50 per cent decrease in their value in a short period of time would cause you acute distress.’

‘With few exceptions when a manager with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for poor economics, it is the reputation of the business which remains intact.’

‘The business schools reward complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.’

‘It’s not debt per say that overwhelms an individual corporation or country. Rather it is a continuous increase in debt in relation to income that causes trouble.’

‘A great investment opportunity occurs when a marvelous business encounters a one-time huge, but solvable problem.’

‘You do not adequately protect yourself by being half awake when other are sleeping.’

‘We like to buy businesses, but we don’t like to sell them.’

‘Money to some extent sometimes let you be in more interesting environments. But it can’t change how many people love you or how healthy you are.’

‘It’s us fun being a gorse when the tractor comes along, or the blacksmith when the car comes along.’

‘Enjoy your work and work for whom you admire.’

‘With enough insider information and a million dollars, you can go broke in a year.’

‘Read Ben Graham and Phil Fisher read annual reports, but don’t do equations with Greek letters in them.’

‘In a commodity business, it’s very hard to be smarter than your dumbest competitor.’

‘A hyperactive stock market is the pickpocket of enterprise.’

‘Valuing a business is part art and part science.’

‘Chains of habits are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.’

Mitglieder des Vorstandes der HypoVereinsbank

Mitglieder des Vorstandes der HypoVereinsbank
UniCredit Bank AG
Lutz Diederichs
Lutz Diederichs
Unternehmer Bank
geboren am 8. November 1962 in Heinsberg/Rheinland
Beruflicher Werdegang

seit Januar 2010
Mitglied des UniCredit Management Committee

seit Oktober 2009
Mitglied des UniCredit Executive Committees Corporate & Investment Banking

seit Januar 2009
Mitglied des Vorstands der UniCredit Bank AG, München
Geschäftsbereich Unternehmer Bank
(seit Januar 2013),
Corporate & Investment Banking
(Oktober 2009 – Januar 2013),
Corporate Banking und Markets & Investment Banking (April 2009 – Oktober 2009),
Firmenkundengeschäft (Januar 2009 –
April 2009)

Mai 2008–Dezember 2008
Head of Corporate Division Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG; Member of UniCredit Group Executive Committee Corporate Division

Januar 2008–April 2008
Bereichsvorstand Großkunden und kommerzielle Immobilienkunden

2004–2007
Leiter des Geschäftsbereiches Firmenkunden Mitte/Ost

2002–2003
Leiter des Geschäftsbereiches Ost Firmenkunden und Freie Berufe, Berlin

2000–2001
Leiter Firmenkundensteuerung & Marketing, München

1997–1999
Leiter Firmen- und Immobilienkunden, Niederlassung Dresden

1995–1997
Betreuung gehobener mittelständischer Firmenkunden, Berlin-Brandenburg

1991–1995
Risikomanagement Firmenkunden- und Immobiliengeschäft Berlin-Brandenburg, Betreuung mittelständischer Firmenkunden, Berlin

1990
Traineeausbildung für Hochschulabsolventen im Firmenkunden- und Immobiliengeschäft der Bayerischen Vereinsbank AG, Bonn/Stuttgart

Studium der Volkswirtschaftslehre, Bonn, Diplom-Volkswirt

Mutual Funds

Mutual Funds


A mutual fund is a type of investment company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in stocks, bonds, money-market instruments, other securities, or even cash. Here are some characteristics of mutual funds:

Investors purchase shares in the mutual fund from the fund itself, or through a broker for the fund, and cannot purchase the shares from other investors on a secondary market, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Stock Market. The price that investors pay for mutual fund shares is the fund’s approximate net asset value (NAV) per share plus any fees that the fund may charge at purchase, such as sales charges, also known as sales loads.

Mutual fund shares are "redeemable." This means that when mutual fund investors want to sell their fund shares, they sell them back to the fund, or to a broker acting for the fund, at their current NAV per share, minus any fees the fund may charge, such as deferred sales loads or redemption fees.

Mutual funds generally sell their shares on a continuous basis, although some funds will stop selling when, for example, they reach a certain level of assets under management.

The investment portfolios of mutual funds typically are managed by separate entities known as "investment advisers" that are registered with the SEC. In addition, mutual funds themselves are registered with the SEC and subject to SEC regulation.

There are many varieties of mutual funds, including index funds, stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds. Each may have a different investment objective and strategy and a different investment portfolio. Different mutual funds may also be subject to different risks, volatility, and fees and expenses. Fees reduce returns on fund investments and are an important factor that investors should consider when buying mutual fund shares.