Renewable energy opportunities: public and private markets

John A. Cook
CIM
Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Investor Engagement, Team Co-Lead
Gregory Payne
PhD,CFA
Senior Vice-President, Portfolio Manager, Team Co-Lead

Existing energy and resource efficiency infrastructure, the molecules and materials needed to build more of them, along with new chemistries to enable cleaner industrial and agricultural processes, have never been more valuable.    That said, value and price are not always aligned, and pricing assets has never been more difficult. Systemic risks keep mounting: inflation, increasing credit costs (and decreasing availability), energy security, and of course a highly unpredictable war.  However, one security pricing consideration that has received far less attention than it deserves is liquidity, and there is an interesting connection here to our space.

Valuation disconnect

Private equity firms are eager to buy renewable utilities, and willing to pay what we consider to be high premiums on these assets. This suggests there is strong competition among private investors, and that publicly traded utilities with an integrated focus on renewables may see a dramatic rise in their valuations.

 

Find out more about how John and Greg are viewing these opportunities and the benefits they present to their portfolio.

Meet your authors

John A. Cook
CIM
Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Investor Engagement, Team Co-Lead

Joined Mackenzie in 2021; investment experience since 1991

  • John brings 30 years of experience ranging from mutual funds, venture capital and social finance
  • Before co-founding Greenchip in 2007, John was President of MaRS Discovery District, one of Canada’s largest innovation hubs. He also held a number of executive positions at Canadian mutual fund companies
  • BA from Queen's University; Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation

Gregory Payne
PhD,CFA
Senior Vice-President, Portfolio Manager, Team Co-Lead

Joined Mackenzie in 2021; investment experience since 1999

  • Greg has more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry, with over a decade focused exclusively on environmental sectors
  • Prior to co-founding Greenchip in 2007, Greg was involved in managing retail and institutional assets at a large capital management firm
  • Honours BSc in Statistics; MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Toronto.