Clean energy funds’ strong quarter dwarfed by fossil fuel gains

But there is a hidden consolation for clean energy investors

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(Mark Hulbert, an author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest; his Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Clean energy investors should be very pleased with how their funds performed in the first quarter — so long as they don’t look at how much better fossil fuel funds did.

The average mutual fund and ETF that invests in clean and sustainable energy gained 6.4% in the first three months of this year, equivalent to 27.9% on an annualized basis. That’s nearly triple the average annual gain of the stock market as a whole.

Why, then, aren’t climate-friendly investors jumping up and down for joy? Because fossil fuel funds and ETFs did a whole lot better, gaining an average of 36.7% during the first quarter. That’s equivalent to 249% annualized.