In most households the rubbish bin has something of a shadow existence. Standing in the corner or integrated into a kitchenette, in many cases this utensil is only noticed once it is full. Yet the unspectacular household device is the interface to a sector of the economy that is of immense importance: the waste industry. Mountains of rubbish are growing with the world's population. “From 2.01 billion metric tons in 2016, waste volumes are on track to reach 3.4 billion in the coming 30 years,” the Swissquote strategists report. This trend gives rise to enormous ecological challenges. “To preserve the quality of life and the earth’s natural resources, immediate investment is needed in solid, reliable infrastructure and supply chains across the globe to support efficient recycling,” the experts state. That was reason enough to add this sector to the online broker’s “Themes Trading” series, with the Swissquote Global Recycling 2.0 Index being launched in March. Leonteq issued a tracker certificate on this benchmark at the same time. To underpin the defensive character of the theme, the issue was additionally protected with a PostFinance guarantee.
The defensive character of this investment theme is another factor alongside its ecological and economic significance. Waste disposal and recycling are key services. “The waste management business is known to be highly regulated and capital intensive,” the Swissquote strategists explain. The various providers can frequently rely on long-term contracts with local authorities and are not exposed to permanent competitive pressure. This defensive character has already come to bear in the first few months after the launch of the Swissquote Global Recycling 2.0 Index. While the benchmark has lost 4.3% in value since it started early in the year, the MSCI World Index has dropped more than 15% over this period. Waste companies have thus emerged relatively stable from a stock market summer dominated by galloping inflation, rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and increasing fears of recession.
Management Fee: 1.10% p.a.
Index Sponsor: Swissquote Bank SA
Issuer: Leonteq Securities AG, Guernsey
Guarantor: PostFinance AG, Bern, Switzerland
17 companies have currently made it through the stringent selection process. To be considered for inclusion in the Swissquote Global Recycling 2.0 Index, the share must meet certain trading criteria. From a qualitative aspect, the benchmark covers the entire value chain of the sector: in addition to recycling, waste management and treatment as well as other associated environmental services are included. Companies from the USA set the tone, making up more than half the capitalisation of the index. Among the Wall-Street stocks is Waste Management. Based in Houston, it describes itself as the largest service provider for the waste management industry in North America. Alongside the transport and disposal of garbage, the large cap's spectrum also includes recycling and a renewable energy line. This broad base enables the company to achieve the typically defensive qualities of the sector: not only has Waste Management successively improved its operating results and margins over recent years, but the group has also delivered a steady rise in dividends. In 2022 the board hopes to increase the dividend for the 19th year in a row.
Among the six European representatives in the Swissquote Global Recycling 2.0 Index is Veolia. The French company has a similarly very broad base: in 2021 the group, which also operates 2,750 sewage treatment plants, supplied drinking water to 79 million people. In the waste sector Veolia collected rubbish from 40 million households last year, while it also had over 435,000 business customers. These produced 48 million tons of waste for processing in the almost 700 plants of the group. The third pillar is the energy division, where the French generated 48 million megawatt hours of electricity in 2021. Whereas Veolia has recently had something of a hard time on the stock market, Biffa is trading at a record high. This can be attributed to a takeover offer from Energy Capital Partners (ECP), a private equity company which is looking to buy the British waste disposal specialist for the equivalent of USDbn 1.41. Biffa’s board gave its backing to the deal at the end of September. Not only has the acquisition contributed to the temporary outperformance of the Swissquote Global Recycling 2.0 Index, it also underlines the huge interest shown by institutional investors in the global waste and recycling industry.
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