Water Stocks – What are the Funds Buying?
The past couple of years have seen a burst of new managed funds specifically targetting the booming water treatment and infrastructure industry. Here are some of these funds' favorite stocks.

Water has been a profitable investment for some years. Many believe it is set to become even more so, as aging infrastructure in parts of the West and strong demand from industrialising countries in Asia combine to push billions of dollars annually into water-related products. Indeed, it is estimated that an investment of as much as $2 trillion could be needed over the next 20 years.

One result is a flurry of new managed funds that have been established in several countries to invest in the relevant water companies, joining several older-established funds.

Their target companies include water utilities, the manufacturers of pumps, pipes and other infrastructure equipment, water purification and desalination companies, sanitation product makers and even mineral water bottlers.

Funds that publish their leading equity holdings include:

Global Water Equities Portfolio
KBC Eco Water Fund
Pictet Water Fund
PowerShares Global Water Portfolio
PowerShares Water Resources Portfolio
SAM Sunstainable Water Fund
US Water Equities Portfolio

The following seven stocks – five American and two European – are among the leading holdings of at least two of these specialist water funds. Some of them are held by most of the funds.

Danaher Corporation is a vast, sprawling conglomerate with dozens of product areas and operations around the world. Its Water Quality group is a global leader in the provision of a wide range of instruments, related consumables and services used to detect and measure chemical, physical and microbiological parameters in drinking water, wastewater, groundwater and ultra-pure water.

Geberit, founded in 1874 and based in Switzerland, is the European leader in sanitation equipment, including bathroom products and water supply and drainage piping systems. It is active in more than 40 countries.

ITT Corporation is a large engineering and manufacturing company, and a world leader in the supply of pumps, systems and services to move, control and treat water.

Millipore Corporation, founded in 1954, is a bioscience company supplying technologies, products and services for the pharmaceuticals industry. Among its products are systems for processing, filtering and purifying water for use in research laboratories.

Pall Corporation is a major filtration, separations and purifications company, with operations in many countries. It has a particular specialty in water purification.

Roper Industries is a prominent producer of industrial and scientific equipment, including a range of water meter and automatic meter reading products and systems, with sales around the world.

Veolia Environnement seems to be on just about every fund manager’s list, often as the largest holding. Founded in 1853, it is a French water specialist that is also active in waste management, energy services and transportation. It operates globally. In the US it is operator of the nation's largest drinking water partnership (Indianapolis), the largest design-build-operate project (Tampa Bay Water's flagship surface water treatment facility) and the largest wastewater partnership (Milwaukee).

February 25th, 2008

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Water Stocks – What are the Funds Buying? The past couple of years have seen a burst of new managed funds specifically targetting the booming water treatment and infrastructure industry. Here are some of these funds' favorite stocks.

Water Stocks – What are the Funds Buying?
The past couple of years have seen a burst of new managed funds specifically targetting the booming water treatment and infrastructure industry. Here are some of these funds' favorite stocks.