Yesterday The Wall Street Journal ran a story about how some hedge fund strategies "are bouncing back in a big way." One of the strategies mentioned in the story was global macro hedge funds, which are enjoying price and value movements in the U.S. dollar and gold. Also, "Emerging-market funds climbed 26% through October, and those that focus on Asia climbed almost 40%." IncreMental Advantage will be hosting a conference in NYC on Jan. 22 that will focus on the 2008 outlook of these two hedge fund strategies, along with others.
"Overall, hedge funds are up about 10.5% in 2007 and may rack up their best year in four years. By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 4%, including dividends, while the Lehman Brothers bond index has gained 5.8%," the Journal reported.
Also in the Journal recently, a story appeared that covered some of the criticism of the U.S. Green Buildings Council's LEED rating system, which was described as being "too impractical and costly." The green materials used to satisfy LEEDs criteria can cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000, depending on various factors. "The rush to focus on green homebuilding comes as the residential real-estate market continues to struggle. Builders are eager to jump on the green marketing bandwagon as a way to differentiate their products," the Journal report concludes, but yet many homeowners rather buy luxury features than "green" ones for their new homes.
Not only are there questions and confusion surrounding the LEED rating system in the residential market, but some doubts linger in the commercial sector. For instance, the standards don't allow for regional differences, so saving water contributes equally to a building's rating in rainy Seattle as it does in dry Tucson. And green measures aren't weighted, so a bike rack scores as highly as buying 50% of a building's energy from renewable sources.
IncreMental Advantage will be hosting a commercial real estate conference in NYC on March 25 and 26 and in California sometime in June. We plan on recruiting leading industry speakers to discuss sustainable development with regards to the LEED rating system and other environmental materials that will clear up some of the confusion and questions about "green" development.
Please check www.incrementaladvantage.com in the coming weeks to view the agenda to our real estate conference.
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