New PowerShares Wind ETF Has Diversification and Global Exposure

There's some wonderful news for those of us who've been waiting for a wind energy ETF that has diversification and global exposure.

On July 1st, Invesco (IVZ) PowerShares Capital Management LLC announced its global wind energy portfolio's first day of trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Invesco PowerShares is a leading provider of ETFs, with over 100 domestic and international index-based and actively managed exchange-traded funds. As of April 30, 2008, they had approximately $13.86 billion of assets under management.

The ETF, named PowerShares Global Wind Energy Portfolio (Nasdaq: PWND), is based on the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge® Global Wind Energy Index. This index is comprised of companies related to the use, development, manufacturing or distribution of wind energy.

"Wind power is among the largest emerging clean energy sources on the planet, and our goal with PWND is to give investors a more innovative and precise way to access this important sector through the inherent structural benefits of an ETF," said Bruce Bond, president and CEO of Invesco PowerShares.

The majority of wind-oriented companies trade on the OTC and pink sheets [such as Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY.PK), Broadwind Energy (BWEN.OB) and Clipper Windpower (CRPWF.PK)]. In addition, the majority of investors either aren't comfortable investing over the counter, or simply don't know how to do so.

Therefore, it’s good to see wind getting more media exposure and 'hype,' if you will. In addition, as investors, we need to be involved and figure out how to benefit. I've said all along to invest across all alternative energy classes and to cover your bases. That's because in the end, there's no real way to know which ones will be the most successful 10 or 20 years from now.

If you're looking for another direct way to play wind, you could simply go through the new FirstTrust Global Wind Energy ETF (NYSE: FAN). And now we have yet another relatively new wind-power ETF, the PowerShares Global Wind Energy Portfolio (Nasdaq: PWND).

For more information, visit their site at www.invescopowershares.com.

• More on choosing the right ETF

Comments

[Stockguy456:]

Is this similar to GEX? I really like invescopowershares.com I own PBW - When are they going to have a fuel cell index?

2008 Jul 14 10:09 AM