Cleantech Companies - Triple the Returns

[Mark]

Cleantech Companies Delivered Triple the Returns of Fossil Fuel Companies Over Past Decade:
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_a ... aFE9In0%3D

A report released today from As Yow Sow and Corporate Knights reveals that a list of 200 clean energy companies known as the Carbon Clean 200™ (Clean200™) show a simulated annualized return of 21.82 percent over the past decade – nearly triple that of the Carbon Underground 200™, a list of fossil fuel companies being targeted for divestment, which generated a 7.84 percent annualized return over the same period. The Clean200’s high figure was largely due to the explosive growth experienced by Chinese cleantech firms, but firms outside of China still had figures superior to the S&P 1200 global benchmark and Carbon Underground 200.

The Carbon Underground 200 compares holdings against the 100 largest coal and 100 largest oil and gas companies as measured by proven reserves. As You Sow’s Fossil Free Funds online tool flags mutual funds with holding in these companies to help individuals and workplaces divest. The Clean200, on the other hand, ranks the largest publicly listed companies worldwide by their total clean energy revenues as rated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). To be eligible, a company must have a market capitalization greater than $1 billion as of the second quarter of 2016, and earn more than 10 percent of total revenues from clean energy sources.

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[woodburner]

A "simulated" return? Can we assume it is not a "real" return trhen?

[adam2]

I suspect that by "simulated return" that they mean that they did not invest any actual money in the companies concerned, but have calculated what the return would have been if actual cash had been invested.

If done honestly and fairly, this is a reasonably accurate indication of what the ACTUAL return would have been on investing ACTUAL cash.

It could be argued that the act of buying shares in a company renders the shares in the company more valuable (supply versus demand) and that the shares are now less profitable.
If the profits are fixed, but the share price rises, then the profits PER £ invested are now less.