Fund Evaluator:

Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Overview

Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy (GAAEX) is an actively managed International Equity Global Small/Mid Stock fund. Guinness Atkinson launched the fund in 2006.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in publicly-traded equity securities of alternative energy companies (both U.S. and non-U.S.). It will invest in alternative energy companies including companies that generate power through solar, wind, hydroelectric, tidal wave, geothermal, biomass or biofuels and the various companies that provide the equipment and technologies that enable these sources to be tapped, used, stored or transported, including companies that create, facilitate or improve technologies that conserve or enable more efficient use of energy.

About Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy (GAAEX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.79 years: Jonathan Waghorn (2019), Will Riley (2019), Jordan Patel (2026), Jamie Melrose (2026). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI World NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy has 33 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 43.4% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy has 43.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 52.7%. There is 43.7% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy has 3.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $20 million in total assets, which is below the $865 million average for the Global Small/Mid Stock category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

GAAEX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Global Small/Mid Stock category. Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy has an expense ratio of 1.11%, which is 12% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy has a portfolio turnover rate of 17%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 56% for the Global Small/Mid Stock category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy returned -2.0%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Global Small/Mid Stock category had an average return of 1.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy has a trailing yield of 0.28%, which is below the 1.34% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 15.0%, 1.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 29.9% over the past year (grade of B), 5.0% over the past three years (grade of F) and 2.3% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 10.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).

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