{"id":17334,"date":"2026-03-03T11:49:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T10:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/management-commentary-03-03-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T14:32:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:32:42","slug":"management-commentary-03-03-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/management-commentary-03-03-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Management Commentary 03.03.2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

General Development<\/h2>\n\n

In February 2026, the fund price recorded a decline of 8.02 percent<\/strong> and was thus unable to continue its positive trend from 2025 and January 2026. For complete performance data, please refer to our factsheet<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

Impact of US Policy<\/strong>Emerging discussions about a possible change in leadership at the US Federal Reserve led to broader market declines as early as late January and early February 2026. Additional uncertainty arose from the US Supreme Court’s decision declaring the global tariffs introduced by the Trump administration unlawful. This puts a central pillar of trade policy in question, creating new uncertainties regarding margins, procurement costs, and competitive conditions\u2014particularly for companies with global supply chains, such as many clean-tech firms. <\/p>\n\n

Current War in the Middle East<\/strong>A current conflict in Iran could have several direct and indirect impacts on clean-tech stocks. In the short term, a rise in oil and gas prices would strengthen the structural competitiveness of renewable energy, but simultaneously increase inflation risks. Higher energy prices often drive up costs for transportation, logistics, and intermediate products such as steel, aluminum, or specialty chemicals\u2014all relevant cost factors for solar, storage, and hydrogen companies. Rising inflation expectations could in turn push up bond yields, putting pressure particularly on interest-rate-sensitive growth stocks. <\/p>\n\n

Added to this is the capital market effect: geopolitical escalations regularly trigger a risk-off movement. During such phases, small caps and technology-oriented growth companies are sold off regardless of their long-term fundamental dynamics. For clean-tech stocks, this means increased volatility, even when structural trends\u2014decarbonization, electrification, grid expansion\u2014remain intact. <\/p>\n\n

In the long term, however, persistent instability in the Middle East could further increase the strategic importance of renewable energy and energy storage, as energy security issues move back into focus. In the short term, however, inflation, interest rate, and risk aspects dominate, which is why geopolitical tensions combined with trade policy uncertainties and the debate surrounding the US Federal Reserve can lead to increased volatility in clean-tech stocks. <\/p>\n\n

February’s performance shows a clear picture<\/strong>In February, six of our portfolio holdings posted gains, while twenty-four holdings recorded declines. The largest positive contributions came from Enphase Energy, Elia, DynaCert, and SFC Energy. <\/p>\n\n

The largest individual losses in February were attributable to Fluence Energy, Plug Power, Ceres Power, and SMA Solar\u2014precisely those stocks that had been among the strongest performers in January.<\/p>\n\n

At the end of February, our portfolio’s equity allocation stood at 97.3 percent.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

New Purchase<\/strong>We have added Eos Energy to the portfolio but initially weighted the position deliberately small. The addition is in the smart-grids sector to specifically expand our exposure to grid stabilization and stationary storage solutions. <\/p>\n\n

Corporate Developments<\/h2>\n\n

Enphase Impresses with Strong Quarterly Results and Tailwinds in the US Market<\/strong>Enphase Energy delivered better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter. Revenue and profitability exceeded consensus estimates. The US business developed positively with a sequential sales increase of over 20 percent to the highest level in more than two years, while Europe remained weak. Free cash flow reached nearly $38 million in the quarter, representing the strongest figure of the year. With approximately $1.51 billion in liquid assets against $1.21 billion in debt, the balance sheet remains solid, also with regard to upcoming maturities and outstanding tax refunds from production credits. <\/p>\n\n

For the first quarter of 2026, management projected revenues between $270 and $300 million. At the same time, the company points to several structural drivers: rising electricity prices, innovative financing offerings, new product generations, and a potentially declining interest rate environment. These factors are meeting long-term strongly growing electricity demand. <\/p>\n\n

Recent Studies from Bloomberg NEF<\/strong>According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (Bloomberg NEF), global electricity demand is expected to rise significantly by 2035, driven by electric mobility as well as data centers and AI applications. The International Energy Agency expects solar energy to account for around 80 percent of additional renewable capacity expansion through 2030. Against this backdrop, the environment remains strategically attractive for technologically leading providers with strong market positions and solid capital bases, despite short-term fluctuations. <\/p>\n\n

Industry Report – Solar<\/h2>\n\n

Solar Module Prices Rising<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

Source: solarserver.de<\/a><\/p>\n\n

In February 2026, the increase in module prices accelerated significantly once again. Nearly all technology classes became more expensive by an additional 1 to 1.5 euro cents per watt, with modules for smaller rooftop systems rising more sharply than project-grade products. Prices are now back above January 2025 levels. Since the low point in December 2025, the increase already amounts to 15 to 18 percent\u2014and no end to this development is currently in sight. <\/p>\n\n

Notably, this price increase is not driven by higher raw material costs. On the contrary: wafer prices have recently declined, and silver prices are also normalizing. The dynamics instead suggest a coordinated attempt by manufacturers to raise module prices back to an economically viable level. Producers are acting with varying degrees of aggressiveness\u2014some are increasing moderately, others are immediately adding 20 to 30 percent. <\/p>\n\n

In the project business, suppliers remain more cautious, as profitability there is sensitive to component prices and larger price jumps could jeopardize project feasibility. In the smaller-scale systems segment, higher module prices have less impact, as they are partly absorbed by installer margins. Nevertheless, the environment remains fragile: demand is not dynamic, and a further decline cannot be ruled out. <\/p>\n\n

Additionally, political uncertainty is weighing on the industry. In the US, the expansion of renewable energy is being slowed by the Trump administration’s climate policy reversal. <\/p>\n\n

In Germany as well, discussions surrounding the so-called grid package are causing considerable uncertainty within the industry.<\/p>\n\n

However, it appears unlikely that the announced tightening measures will be implemented in full. Despite short-term risks, the structural foundation of the solar industry remains intact in the long term. <\/a><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

General Development In February 2026, the fund price recorded a decline of 8.02 percent and was thus unable to continue its positive trend from 2025 and January 2026. For complete performance data, please refer to our factsheet. Impact of US PolicyEmerging discussions about a possible change in leadership at the US Federal Reserve led to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[101],"class_list":["post-17334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-management-commentary-advisors","tag-2026-q1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17334"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17335,"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17334\/revisions\/17335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenbenefit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}