Holden and Partners press feed. http://www.holden-partners.co.uk en-GB   <h1>Hedge fund bets on gas price tripling</h1> <h3>Reports Mark Hoskin, 20th August 2009</h3> <p>Yesterday US gas futures fell to $3.049 per million British thermal units (mBtu) the lowest level for seven years from an all time high of $15 per mBtu, because&nbsp;of a saturated market in the US and an expected global glut. However, markets can correct. It remains a possibility that&nbsp;producers may cut production, deeming the present value of gas underground higher than the present spot price, at the same time that coal fired power stations switch to gas for cost and environmental reasons.... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>The Property Turn</h1> <h3>Reports Mark Hoskin, 21st August 2009</h3> <p>It maybe time to re-weight portfolios towards commercial property. In the period up to the end of 2007 investors and advisers poured money into this sector and valuations&nbsp;rose well above the long term averages. With yields on properties falling below bank interest rates in 2007 investors did not seem to be taking into account the many risks associated with commercial property. The recent downturn has made investors well aware of the pitfalls -&nbsp;Zurich Assurance's popular Sterling property fund is down 32.6... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Labour is not working?</h1> <h3>Report by Mark Hoskin, 14th August 2009</h3> <p>Labour is not working is the famous poster devised by Saatchi and Saatchi for the Conservatives in 1978. It was devised then to highlight the high levels of unemployment under Labour. It may be a slogan which we will see again in the 2010 election campaign, but financial planners around the country are perhaps already coining the phrase&nbsp;- "Labour encourages not working".</p> <p>The loss of the personal allowance for those earning over &#163;100,000, the new 50% tax rate for those earning over &#163;150... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Economics and politics favour gas</h1> <h3>Reports Mark Hoskin, 14th August 2009</h3> <p>We live in a mad world, of that there is no doubt. Currently as outlined in the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4a2ade6a-8875-11de-82e4-00144feabdc0.html">FT</a> today the United Arab Emirates&nbsp;are in discussions with Obama and US congress to buy nuclear technology in order to feed its electricity network. Incredibly all the Gulf Arab countries, except Qatar, face power shortages, because they cannot produce enough natural gas to cope with their demand for electricity. Many of the proble... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1><span>De-mystifying renewable energy targets - The world today</span></h1> <h3><span>Reports Rebecca Tunstall, 13th August 2009</span></h3> <p><span>This is the first in a series of 4 articles examining renewable energy targets. In this first article we will look at the global progress in renewable energy targets, further articles will examine why the UK is lagging behind other countries, what the future holds and the commercial opportunities these targets offer. </span></p> <p><span>At least 66 countries, including 27 EU countries have renewable energy policy targets of some type. The... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1><span>Natural Gas goes Green</span></h1> <h3><span>Reports Rebecca Tunstall, 11th August 2009</span></h3> <p><span>Natural Gas has not traditionally been viewed as an Environmental investment. It is essentially a fossil fuel, however, it is now being viewed as clean energy and an &#8220;alternative&#8221; to fossil fuels and hailed as the &#8220;bridge fuel to the 21^st century&#8221;. So what has changed?</span></p> <p><span>In the last year, vast new supplies of natural gas were discovered in shale, which has brought the price of Natural Gas down 70%. Furthermore, the gas a... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Renewable Energy Policy - Is it all wind?<o:p></o:p></h1> <h3>Reports Steven Pyne, 10th August 2009</h3> <p>Its&nbsp;a sad irony that one of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region></st1:place>&#8217;s biggest employers in the green energy industry has just ceased production whilst at the same time, the government has announced it intends to create 400,000 green jobs over the next six years. Last month, the Vestas factory in <st1:city w:st="on">Newport</st1:city>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Isle of Wight</st1:city>, <st1:country-regio... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1><span>Ofgem invests in Wind</span></h1> <h3><span>Reports Rebecca Tunstall - 6th August 2009</span></h3> <p><span>The <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7c153148-808f-11de-bf04-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1">FT reported </a>that Ofgem has announced a &#163;6.5bn investment programme into the regional electricity networks</span><span> over the next five years<span>, opening up the electricity market to wind developers.</span></span></p> <p><span>For the UK to achieve its 2050 goals it requires moving large amounts of <span>wind </span>power over long distances, from the windy, lightl... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Switch from Copper to Natural Gas</h1> <h3>Reports Mark Hoskin, 5th August 2009</h3> <p>An investment in a Copper and Natural Gas exchange traded funds can both be considered to be environmental investment plays.</p> <p>Copper is the most conductive metal after silver and gold and is central in reducing wastage in electrical networks. Since the bottom of the market in January an investment in&nbsp;the ETFS&nbsp;copper fund will have more than doubled. But is it still the place to be? Figures for imports of Copper into China showed that copper imports into China at 30th June 2009 have q... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>&nbsp;British Energy launch carbon reduction scheme</h1> <h3><span>Reports Rebecca Tunstall -&nbsp;4th August&nbsp;2009</span></h3> <p>The FT reported last week that British Energy (part of the EDF group) have launched a pioneering scheme aimed at dramatically reducing carbon consumption.</p> <p>The scheme is aimed at any non-residential users burning more than 6,000MWh/year. The scheme is unique in that it seeks to encourage organisations to compete against each other over how much they save. In brief the scheme in the first stage will see approximately 20,000 organisations ranging fr... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1><span>Will Carbon Capture and Storage be the technology that secures our future?</span></h1> <h3><span>Reports Rebecca Tunstall -&nbsp;3rd August&nbsp;2009</span></h3> <p>Nicholas Stern, commented at a Bloomberg presentation earlier this month, that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will be an important technology of the future. He further emphasised the importance of CCS for the UN discussions that will take place in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Copenhagen</st1:place></st1:city>. So what is CCS and what sort of solutions, if any, does it offer?</p> <p>CCS is a theoretical a... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Pension Planning now at 60% tax relief.</h1> <h3>Reports Mark Hoskin, 30th July 2009</h3> <p>Gordon Brown has almost not stopped tinkering with pension legislation since the Blair government started in 1997. His latest fumblings with Alistair Darling have made tax planning around pensions even more important for those earning just over &#163;100,000.</p> <p>Yesterday I saw a client who was earning &#163;113,000 with savings in cash sufficient to make large pension contributions. This year we have discussed making the maximum pension gross pension contribution of &#163;69,125 to avoid p... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1><span>Is it financial advice or parental advice which is needed?</span></h1> <h3><span></span><span>Reports Steven Pyne, 28th July 2009</span></h3> <p><span>For most people the guidance they need is very simple. It is more in the sphere of a parental head than financial advice. </span><span>Yesterday I had a call from a 28 year old self employed saver. He earned about &#163;30k a year and had managed to save about &#163;25k in his working life, but was concerned he was not doing the right thing. In our conversation it transpired that he was renting but that in the next 5 years would pro... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1><span>Is there any investment value in BP and Shell?</span></h1> <h3>&nbsp;<span>Reports Rebecca Tunstall - 27th July 2009</span></h3> <p><span>Almost all <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region></st1:place> stock broker portfolios will hold either BP or Royal Dutch Shell as part of their core holdings. As we have recently found out it can take the markets a long time to recognise fundamental shifts in underlying valuations. If the value of a company is dependent on future discounted cash flows can we really be sure that BP and Shell will add any value ... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Is not a Financial&nbsp;Adviser there to advise?</h1> <h3>Reports Mark Hoskin, 24th July 2009</h3> <p>In the last week you may be surprised to learn that I have not sold a single product. In fact I cannot remember the last time I did. At Holden &amp; partners we sell a service to help the client manage his finances and advise our clients as to their best options in a fast changing environment. This is a very difficult thing to evalate&nbsp;using a tick box system, because we are&nbsp;not, contrary to the perception,&nbsp;a point of sales operation. This makes it hard to regulate and ove... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   &nbsp; <h1>Nicholas Stern presents at <span>Bloomberg on Climate Change</span></h1> <h3><span>Reports Rebecca Tunstall - 23rd July 2009</span></h3> <p><span>Nicholas Stern, the LSE professor who published the widely acclaimed Stern Review for the UK government on the economics of climate change gave an optimistic presentation at Bloomberg, in December, about a new global warming treaty.</span></p> <p><span>Policy makers around the world have been making positive steps towards long term change, notably in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-re... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Investment to be impacted by UK White Paper</h1> <h3>Reports Rebecca Tunstall, 22nd July 2009</h3> <p>This very eagerly awaited White Paper and accompanying strategy for renewable energy&nbsp;sets out how the UK aims to become a low-carbon economy. This includes meeting a UK national target of slashing greenhouse gases by 34% from 1990 levels by 2020 and, in addition, meeting its EU obligation to produce 15% of energy from renewable sources by the same date. This is very encouraging support for the future of Climate change Investment.</p> <p>In order to achieve these goals the new meas... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Tax changes Financial Planning for Lawyers and High Earners&nbsp;</h1> <h3><span>Reports Mark Hoskin, 21st July 2009</span></h3> <p><span>The new legislation introduced by Alistair Darling for higher rate tax payers earning in excess of &#163;150,000 will have a significant impact on financial planning for lawyers and high earners and see a change in the types of investment that these individuals look for. </span><span>There are three key changes for higher earners to consider in their financial planning from 6^th April 2010. Firstly, after the personal allowance will cease to... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Ethical Investment - Radio 4 Money Box</h1> <h3>24th June 2009</h3> <p>Paul Lewis of Money Box took listeners questions on ethical investment with&nbsp;a panel which included Mark Hoskin of Holden &amp; Partners. <font size=3></p> <p>"I think what people focus on," when talking about ethical funds, is that&nbsp;"they don&#8217;t perform. Actually conventional funds don&#8217;t perform either and you&#8217;ve got the same situation for both types of funds. I&#8217;ve actually done some research on 3 year and 1 year performance of conventional funds that lots of financial advisers recomm... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Wealth Managers must select VCTs</h1> <h2>Reports Steven Pyne, 4th May 2009 - Ventus "C" Share Offering</h2> <p>It is rare to find an opportunity which combines a proven economic model, a high dividend yield and significant tax incentives in an investment, particularly in today's difficult environment. But if you are prepared to take a ten year view Climate Change Capital who manage the Ventus offering are seeking to achieve an 8% tax free dividend after five years with an upfront tax incentive of 30%. This is&nbsp;achieved&nbsp;by a management team who have already proved their busines... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Climate Change Investment is the new way</h1> <h3>&nbsp;Reports Steven Pyne, 10th February 2009</h3> <p>On the 4th February 2009 Mark Hoskin of Holden &amp; Partners in concert with Cantos, Greenpeace and Justin Urquhart Stewart outlined what Climate&nbsp;Change Investment is.</p> <p>Mark Hoskin explained, "Climate&nbsp; Change is happening and there is a consensus that it is due to human activity. The fundamental drivers of which are population growth and industrialisation and if you throw in national security you have an explosive mix."</p> <p>For a full video of the 10 minute discu... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Environment: Tar sands - the new toxic investment</h1> <h2>The Guardian 24 September 2008 By Terry Macalister </h2> <h2>Report warns against oil industry's equivalent of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. </h2> <p>Shell and BP have been warned by investors that their involvement in unconventional energy production such as Canada's oil sands could turn out to be the industry's equivalent of the sub-prime lending that poisoned the banking sector and triggered the current financial crisis. </p> <p>The criticism came as a report was released yesterday warning of the potential financial risks ... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Green Light for investing in Energy Efficient Companies</h1> <h2>Financial Times 22 September 2008 By Josephine Cumbo</h2> <p>Gordon Brown's recent pledge to invest &#163;1bn in making thousands of homes more energy efficient provided some relief for householders struggling with soaring gas and electricity bills. But they are not the only ones who could benefit from this initiative. Investors are also being encouraged to plug into the potential of the energy efficiency sector. </p> <p>Energy efficiency companies include those making "greener" lightbulbs, batteries, fans and lightweight... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>Changing climate shifts ethical investors,</h1> <h3>by Alice Ross, FT - 12th November, 2009</h3> <p><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/15d6d8b6-d07e-11de-af9c-00144feabdc0.html">Go to Financial Times article</a>.</p> ... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <p>"Climate Change Investment Funds are Outperforming.." according to Holden &amp; Partners third guide to Climate Change Investment.</p> <p><a href="/documents/Press_Release_6th_Nov_2009.pdf">Article</a></p> ... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx   <h1>"Banks explain relative performance of UK equity funds..."</h1> <h3>according to Holden &amp; Partners 3rd Guide to Climate Change Investment.</h3> <p>The launch of Holden &amp; Partners 3rd Guide to&nbsp; Climate change Investment in National Ethical Investment Week reveals the two best performing ethical funds in the UK in the last five years, have been the CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust...</p> <p><a href="/documents/Press_Release_8th_Nov_2009.pdf">See Article</a></p> ... http://www.holden-partners.co.uk/press.aspx