Green investment fund producing ‘hot’ returns

Charles Goldman is now an equity partner in the eco-friendly Green Alpha Advisors LLC in Boulder.

Green Alpha is the subadviser to the Shelton Green Alpha Fund, which has seen smokin’ hot returns of 25.6 percent since launching in March. You can find independent verification of those returns at Morningstar.com.

Morningstar also ranked the fund No. 1 out of 1821 Large Growth Funds in the second quarter ended June 30.

But I digress.

Goldman previously headed registered investment advisory custody units at both Charles Schwab & Co. and Fidelity Investments before making the move to Green Alpha.

The firm’s “green” investment strategy continues to set it apart – advisers look to invest in publicly traded companies that focus on the “Next Economy.”

What does that mean exactly in the corporate world?

Publicly traded companies getting a look-see from Green Alpha should be involved in ways to address global warming through transportation, communications, commerce, infrastructure, materials, energy, agriculture, water or any other areas that might be a fit.

Shelton Capital Management in San Francisco is Green Alpha’s parent, with $865 million in assets under management. Green Alpha has not disclosed client assets, but it’s registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Comings and goings

Longmont-based Mile High Banks will close two branches on Sept. 27, one in Littleton and one in Denver, according to the Colorado Division of Banking.

The branch closures leave the bank with 11 open branches, including two in Longmont and one in Boulder.

Strategic Growth Bancorp, a bank holding company in El Paso, Texas, bought the struggling Longmont bank for $5.5 million at the beginning of the year and recapitalized it with as much as $90 million.

The move came after previous parent company Big Sandy Holding Co. in Limon went through voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization.

Meanwhile, Mountain View Bank of Commerce in Westminster has opened a Boulder office.

While the one-person show at 3100 Arapahoe Ave. just handles loan production at the moment, bank representatives hope to expand into a full-fledged branch soon, said Stephen Faillaci, bank market president.

As with so many bankers and investors before him in the Boulder market, Faillaci raves about how great the town is for innovators and general high-tech excitement.

Mountain View has about $60 million in assets.

Report financial abuse

Bankers and others in the financial world should report suspected financial abuse – especially that aimed at older people – to the appropriate authorities.

That’s the word from Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials, who have joined with seven other federal regulatory agencies to publicize the plan. It’s not illegal for bankers to report when they see irregular transactions, unusual account activity and other behavior that might signal financial abuse, according to regulators.

Even if it seems like a violation of privacy, it’s important to report, the FDIC said in a press release.

Since 1999, banks must notify customers if the banks are being asked to give the customers’ personal information to a third party. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, banks must give their customers a chance to “opt out” before giving out personal information.

In Boulder County, you can report abuse to the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging. Contact the office at: bcaaa@bouldercounty.org or 303-441-3570 – or call your local police department.

Lending upswing

Wells Fargo reports that one form of Small Business Administration lending that its bankers do in Colorado stood at $58.6 million on June 30. That’s about $30 million more than the value of loans made by any other SBA lender in the state, according to Cristie Drumm, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman.

The Colorado SBA numbers mirror a national Wells Fargo small business survey done in July that shows business owners are more optimistic than they have been in the past five years.

Some 57 percent of small-business owners across the country report that they’re seeing a stronger housing market.

Beth Potter can be reached at 303-630-1944 or bpotter@bcbr.com.

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