Planet Water: Investing in the World's Most Valuable Resource - Hardcover

by Steve Hoffmann (Author)

Solving the world's water problems is proving to be one of the greatest investment opportunities of our time. Already, world water supplies are inadequate to meet demand, and the problem is going to get much worse in the years ahead. The World Bank estimates that 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and about 50 percent of the world's hospital beds are populated by people who have contracted water-borne diseases. If present consumption rates continue, in 25 years the world will be using 90 percent of all available freshwater. To address the problem, trillions of dollars will need to be invested in water infrastructure projects. And while the problems are most acute in developing and rapidly growing economies, there are huge water infrastructure needs in industrialized countries, as well. In the U.S. alone, it's estimated that more than $1 trillion will be needed for water and wastewater infrastructure projects. In Planet Water, water investment expert Steven Hoffmann explains the dynamics driving the water crisis and identifies investment opportunities in various sectors of the water industry. Hoffman provides investors with the knowledge and insights they need to make informed investments in water utilities, as well as companies providing water treatment services; infrastructure services; water monitoring and analytics; and desalination services. He also discusses mutual funds and ETFs that specialize in water stocks. Investing in the water industry is certainly no pie-in-the-sky idea. Over the past five years, many water stocks have exploded in value and water stocks as a whole have outperformed the S&P 500 by a substantial amount. In Planet Water, Hoffmann provides investors with everything they need to profit from this fast-growing industry in the years ahead.

Front Jacket

Water, says Steve Hoffmann, will be the resource that defines the twenty-first century--driven by a substantial increase in its value. The water business is already the third largest industry in the world, behind oil and gas production and electricity generation. There is a burgeoning global demand for safe drinking water, environmentally sustainable water use, and industrial process improvement. Trillions of dollars will be spent worldwide on water projects in the coming years, which will substantially elevate the equity values of water-related companies. In fact, from 2000 to 2005, water utility stocks returned 134%, and some individual water utility stocks went up five-fold over the same period. And water utilities comprise just one sector among a number of functional groupings, each of which possess their own unique fundamentals.

In Planet Water, Hoffmann, one of the first investors to recognize the value of the water industry as a long-term investment, reveals the details behind this growing opportunity and shows you how to profit from it in the years ahead.

The water industry, Hoffmann explains, not only encompasses all aspects of drinking water, but also, in an increasingly significant context, provides water to meet the quality parameters of everything from human consumption to ecological integrity to semiconductor manufacturing to irrigation--and in the quantities necessary to potentially serve a future megacity of a billion people. The combination of need and structure will require expenditures of unprecedented proportions and create an investment opportunity that is only beginning to come to fruition.

Dramatic change is on the way--to be reflected in consolidation, rationalization, accelerating merger and acquisition activity, private equity involvement, and a consistent flow of initial public offerings. Planet Water outlines the five key sectors of the industry--utilities, treatment, analytical, infrastructure, and resource management--and reveals what investors can expect to see in the near and long-term future and how they can make the most of this unprecedented investment opportunity.

With the rapidly expanding world population, especially in developing economies, as well as increased per capita water demand, an overutilized supply of fresh water, and the fact that water is experiencing growing temporal and spatial constraints, all the ingredients are in place for water stocks to continue to outperform the general market. In fact, Hoffmann believes that water is logically transitioning to a distinct asset class based on the unique characteristics of water as a scarce resource and a vital commodity. Planet Water will show how you too can profit from an investment in the resource of the twenty-first century: water.

Back Jacket

Praise for Planet Water

"Steve Hoffmann has been a contributing editor and Model Water Stock Portfolio manager for our Water Investment Newsletter over the past twelve years. Steve has the education and background in water to understand the dynamics of water and its related sciences. In addition, Steve has the business mind and background to assimilate the two into forecasting investment trends in the water industry. The serious investor who wants to invest in the water market will find this book a must-read to obtain a background in water to help make knowledgeable investment decisions in the water arena."
--Tom Bell, President and Publisher, U.S. Water News

"Timely, provocative, and insightful--Hoffmann provides a much needed dialogue on the looming water crisis. He addresses the necessity for change in our mind-set and prepares us for the challenges that lie ahead."
--Donna Mathern, Financial Analyst

"Planet Water: Investing in the World's Most Valuable Resource beautifully educates and informs readers on the shifting availability and demand for water. A resource taken for granted by many and nicknamed 'liquid gold' by others, it is clear that global demand is putting tremendous stress on current supply and that there simply is no substitute. Steve Hoffmann goes to the heart of the issue and brings to light the challenges and the opportunities ahead for addressing our most precious resource."
--Richard Sootkoos, Managing Partner, Palisades Water Index Associates

"In Planet Water, Steve Hoffmann describes the challenges and opportunities of investing in the water industry from a unique perspective shaped by formal scientific and resource economics training and years of experience consulting with and investing in water-related companies. Regardless of whether he's describing water rate structures, potential technology applications, service solutions, or identifying sector-specific or industry-wide trends, his insights not only advance general understanding of how water permeates every aspect of our lives, but more importantly provide a framework for understanding the relevant investment risks and rewards of the water industry. This book is a valuable resource for investors and industry participants alike."
--Christopher Ward, CFA, Independent Investment Analyst,

former Chief Investment Officer, CALLC

Author Biography

Steve Hoffmann is the founder of WaterTech Capital, a private investment company that specializes exclusively in consulting and investment opportunities within the water industry. With over twenty-five years of experience in the water industry--as a water rate designer, resource economist, entrepreneur, and investor--Hoffmann has witnessed firsthand the dramatic transition of the water business. He was one of the earliest financiers to recognize the potential of water as an investment theme, and has been a contributing editor to the Water Investment Newsletter for more than fourteen years. Hoffmann is also cofounder and principal architect of the Palisades Water Indexes, which serve as the tracking indexes for several leading water ETFs.