WHPRO - Front Page

PROGRESSIVE ENERGY INDEX^® (WHPRO)

WilderHill Progressive Energy Index^® (WHPRO) is a modified equal-weight index made up of companies that serve as an energy bridge improving near-term use of fossil fuels by progressively improving efficiency, while reducing their conventional and other pollution. Sectors include alternative fuels, emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and innovation in energy materials, production and use. A focus is on transitional bridge technologies that can act to reduce harms from inherently dirty coal, oil and natural gas, enhance efficiency, or make better use of or advance all of the major energy sources dominant today.

Besides capturing options that can help reduce pollution or make better use of coal, oil, natural gas, & nuclear that dominate our energy portrait - this also captures opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gases because of potential climate risk.

Both attentive to energy security & energy independence, as well as to climate risk, we may include near-term options that can carry some downsides yet mitigate CO2: we are inclusive for mainly carbon-neutral options, like biofuels. Diverse companies with exposure to nuclear may be included, but past generation nuclear is not a priority; next-generation or advanced nuclear power may be considered if safer and better. Uranium and other nuclear fuels can be included. Zero-carbon, pure play companies such as in renewable solar & wind power that prevent pollution in the first place are mainly excluded from this Index.

Index Construction - Generally speaking, as a guideline, the Index should:

The Progressive Energy Index^® uses modified equal dollar weighting. No single stock may exceed 5% of the total Progressive Energy Index^® weight at quarterly rebalancing.
For a stock to be included in the selection universe, it should be a company providing for improvements in alternative fuels, emissions reduction, efficiency, or innovation in energy materials, production, use, etc. These should serve as an energy bridge improving use of fossil fuels over the next several decades by progressively reducing carbon and other pollution. Of potential relevance could be government or private sector concerns for greenhouse gases (GHGs), climate change, or new efforts to reduce GHGs such as from coal, oil, and natural gas. We favor near-term options and so recognize that modest improvements only may be represented in many cases; the mainly carbon-neutral transitional biofuels such as corn-based ethanol are included in this Index. Companies having some or substantial exposure to nuclear power such as utilities may be included, but current-generation nuclear power is not a priority for the Index; next-generation nuclear may be considered if it is significantly safer. Zero-carbon clean energy and pollution prevention are generally excluded from this Index.
To be eligible for the Progressive Energy Index^®, a stock must have: (i) three-month average market capitalization of at least $150 million; (ii) three-month average closing price above $1.00 if not currently in the Progressive Energy Index^®; and (iii) be listed on the NYSE, AMEX or NASDAQ and, if a foreign company, have their ADRs listed on the NYSE, AMEX or NASDAQ.
WHPRO may, at any time and from time to time, change the number of issues comprising the Progressive Energy Index^® by adding or deleting one or more component stocks, or replacing one or more issues contained in the Progressive Energy Index^® with one or more substitute stocks of its choice, if in WHPRO’s discretion such addition, deletion or substitution is necessary or appropriate to maintain the quality and/or character of the emerging energy industry.
The Index is calculated using a modified equal dollar weighting methodology. Component securities and weights are determined by their respective sector and size. Each Sector is assigned an aggregate weight within the index. Components less than $400 million in total market capitalization are set to one-half of a percent (0.5%) weight. The remaining components in each Sector are equally weighted using Sector weightings minus the sum of the weights of stocks less than $400 million in market capitalization. Sector weightings were initially determined by the Index Provider and are reviewed each quarter in conjunction with the scheduled quarterly review of the Index. At the rebalancing no component may exceed five percent (5%) of the Index.

Dr. Wilder on CNBC TV speaking about the WHPRO Index, 2008, Video

A Comparison of the Progressive Energy Index^® (WHPRO) – with the original WilderHill Clean Energy Index^® (ECO): A Non-Overlapping of Stocks

Notably this WH Progressive Energy Index^® is significantly different from the WilderHill Clean Energy Index^® (ECO) launched August 16, 2004 and more on that is at www.wildershares.com. Unlike that original ECO Index designed for the clean energy sector and so specifically for non-fossil fuel sources like zero-carbon solar or wind power — the latest WH Progressive Energy Index^® (WHPRO) is designed to instead track transitional bridge technologies for reducing harms stemming from dominant energy of today: inherently dirty fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas.

Importantly there is no concurrent overlap between the stocks themselves that make up the two Indexes; generally none of the stocks in ECO in any one Quarter are also in WHPRO at the same time and visa-versa. At times we expect a company may migrate from one Index into the other, should their activity grow for instance in developing renewable zero-carbon energy to prevent pollution (‘green’ power, for ECO) — or they move to reducing a pollutant from fossil fuels (going to WHPRO) — however they will generally be moved from one Index and into the other, and thus not appear in both in the same Quarter. We post below Correlation data showing a significant non-correlation between WHPRO & ECO.

More broadly for a company to be considered for inclusion in WH Progressive Energy Index^® in the first place, their share price movement should be impacted in a meaningful way by work they may do in a relevant energy endeavor. While this WH Progressive Energy Index^® (WHPRO) is expected to have significant composition of larger cap stocks, the more pure-play WH Clean Energy Index (ECO) instead focuses on smaller volatile renewable energy companies that are often $1-10 billion in size or less. WHPRO is expected to have many large and wide-ranging conglomerates working in diverse fields for which progress in New Energy Activity, or in Better Efficiency is just a part of their work. Blue chip famous company names in WHPRO are often recognizable; those in ECO are frequently unknown.

The Index Rules also should lead to sizably less volatility for WHPRO, compared to ECO. The minimum allowable floor for stocks included in the Progressive Energy Index^® (WHPRO) is $150 million market cap at the rebalance. Any stocks $150 million-$400 million in size are down-weighted to 0.5% at the rebalance to account for their smaller size. By contrast ECO has a lower minimum floor of $50 million, and any stock between the band of $50 million-$200 million market cap is weighted 0.5% at the rebalance.

In sum we purposefully don’t use words like ‘clean’ or ‘solutions’ with respect to WHPRO; as noted those more accurately refer to the story of the Clean Energy Index® (ECO). We also as individuals do not seek to be ‘pied-pipers’ for the compromise technologies of WHPRO, since these are transition technologies to incrementally improve still-dirty fuels. And yet they are importantly near-term approaches that valuably help reduce harm, advance energy efficiency, and make better use of dominant energy sources of today and therefore can be of real utility. We’d emphasize that themes here are often vexing compromises and as such often only lower certain pollutants (not eliminating all harm). Yet these are the near-term advances that would likely be tied to any progressive improvement in, and decarbonizing of the main energy sources of the early 21st century.

Performance of WHPRO: Backtesting History since 2001.

Correlation data for WHNEF:

Correlations of Daily Price Returns
Start Date	End Date	Period	S&P 500	NASDAQ Comp.
6/29/01	9/29/06	ITD	83.37%	87.06%
9/28/01	9/29/06	5 YR	86.37%	87.05%
9/29/03	9/29/06	3 YR	83.31%	86.37%
9/29/05	9/29/06	1YR	84.84%	86.99%

Correlations of Daily Price Returns, WHPRO vs. ECO etc
Start Date	End Date	Period	S&P 500	NASDAQ Comp.	ECO
6/29/01	9/29/06	ITD	83.37%	87.06%	79.23%
9/28/01	9/29/06	5 YR	83.09%	87.05%	78.98%
9/29/03	9/29/06	3 YR	83.31%	86.37%	75.96%
9/29/05	9/29/06	1YR	84.84%	86.99%	79.69%

Global Navigation

Main Navigation

Content

Sidebar

Footer