Mark Bruinooge, chief investment officer, 2040 Fund
Bruinooge says he positions his portfolio to benefit from the constructive and destructive forces behind climate change. One of his favorite plays is consulting and engineering company Tetra Tech, Inc.
“They are the tip of the spear, responding to natural disasters in remediating and in building more resilient infrastructure after extreme weather events,” Bruinooge said. The increased intensity of storms and precipitation add to the company’s potential upside, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed: The stock, now around $176, is up almost 55% in 2021.
Bruinooge also likes Xylem, Inc., which is pushing new advanced water metering, water management and leak detection. But it’s the smart use of saltwater that’s at the heart of another company Bruinooge has invested in, salmon farmer Atlantic Sapphire ASA.
Global warming has hurt ocean-based salmon, and it’s very carbon-intensive to fly in fish from Scandanavia or Chile to North America. What Atlantic Sapphire does in its U.S. plant is tap into saltwater aquifers in southern Florida to create a large tank-based facility for salmon. “You put the fish closer to the market and grow it in a more efficient way,” Bruinooge said.
The company, which went public on the Oslo Stock Exchange in mid-2020, “is a very transformational business,” Bruinooge said. But the stock, which trades at about $5, has been volatile. The company has had operational issues, including a shortage in the supply of liquid nitrogen for its Florida facility that meant the fish didn’t grow as much as projected.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.