Credit Suisse has launched its new Global Warming index. The index offers investors the opportunity to invest in renewable energy and carbon controlling stocks which are selected by the Bank's equity research and HOLT teams.
Credit Suisse's Global Equity Strategy and Equity Research teams have identified key investment opportunities created by environmental sustainability issues, particularly in companies involved in demand management (e.g., more efficient energy consumption), emissions limitation, renewable electricity and renewable fuels.
Stefano Natella, Managing Director and Head of Global Equity Research at Credit Suisse, said, "This themed index is the next step in Credit Suisse's efforts to supplement our research with relevant thematic indexes on key global issues."
Jessica Houtepen, Managing Director and Head of Global Equity Derivatives Structuring, said, "By combining the expertise of our energy research, HOLT and structuring teams, Credit Suisse has created an index with strong historical performance, which provides a solid base for a range of structured products."
Andrew Garthwaite, Managing Director and Chief Global Equity Strategist at Credit Suisse, said, "Nearly everyone we speak to believes that global warming is a critical issue that governments are only now beginning to address. The debate is how best to position portfolios for this new issue. One solution is a basket of stocks that plays across the different themes related to reducing carbon emissions."
The Bank's Global Energy Research team first generated a global universe of global warming-related stocks, and then chose the top 120 stocks by market capitalisation from that group. HOLT factors were used to assess these companies' operational quality, cash flow valuation and market sentiment, selecting the top 40 companies to constitute the index. Calculated by Standard & Poor's, the index is rebalanced every February and August and is calculated as a synthetic price return and total return index in dollars, Euros and Swiss francs. The Global Research team's continued input will help to adjust the universe to take advantage of technological and regulatory changes in this fast moving space.
Earlier this year, Credit Suisse's Private Banking division launched the Credit Suisse Global Alternative Energy Index (CSGAEI). This index allows the close observation of developments in the Alternative Energy universe in an innovative way, by tracking all Alternative Energy sources and providing worldwide exposure and regular rebalancing. These products underscore Credit Suisse's aim to be one of the world's top resource providers in this area.
Source: Credit Suisse
