Green Business Equals Danger For Greenhorn Investors
I am not suggesting for a moment that all Green businesses are bad investments, but I am suggesting that whenever a bubble appears or to there is much enthusiasm for an idea, that a number of the businesses ideas sold to unquestioning investors will turn out to serve the middle men far more than the money men.
As the investors, the business angels, we need to be on our guard.
There appear to be two dangers with the current alternative or green energy fad.
The first is the classic investment risk taught by Benjamin Graham and discussed in his book The Intelligent Investor. Graham, the mentor of Warren Buffett, took apart the reasons for investing in the 1950s boom industry – the airlines.
His analysis has been proven to be right as Buffett now claims that in 50 years, airline investors taken as a whole still have not had a return on their money.
However, Graham did spot that a large number of companies supplying the new industry did make a lot of money for investors. Airports, retailers and caterers have done well.
Graham’s conclusion was that it is far better to supply a growth business sector than to be a part of a great swam of investment as inevitably too much money will be invested too easily squeezing the profit margins of good ideas.
The second risk is that climate change will turn out to be a Malthusian idea that solves itself as population growth, mutually assured destruction and …
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