Finance
Retirement planningand stocks: a finance expert weighs in
After one other tough day on Wall Avenue, a finance knowledgeable says now will not be the time to panic however it might be the time to make adjustments to your funds to climate the storm and put together for retirement.
“It’s scary. I’d say lots of buyers and other people planning for retirement are very nervous proper now,” mentioned Jeff Segelke, president of Segelke Monetary Group. “As a result of it looks like issues simply hold taking place, down, down.”
Segelke says the S&P 500 is down 18 % 12 months thus far. The Nasdaq is down 27 %. Including to the priority is an unsure future. Not figuring out how lengthy the downturn will final within the inventory market.
“’What if this retains going? Is my retirement simply going to be depleted and all of the sudden half of it’s gone?’ And so, I believe there’s lots of concern and fear that this may very well be the beginning of a 2008-type situation.”
Sgelke says there are “a variety of issues going towards us proper now”, together with excessive costs for issues like fuel, groceries and housing, rising rates of interest, provide chain points, Russia’s ongoing struggle and a risky inventory market.”
“Effectively, none of it’s actually good proper now. None of it,” he mentioned. “All of that occuring without delay is creating this enormous mess.”
However there are issues you are able to do in relation to funds. Segelke says if you happen to’re inside a couple of years of retirement, you need to be extra conservative within the amount of cash you’re investing and take into account taking cash out of the market.
In the event you’re close to retirement he says you’ll wish to find the money for readily available to pay your payments and stay for a pair years.
“The inventory market is ready the place it may very simply in six months may very well be 15 to twenty % larger than it’s proper now or 15 to twenty % decrease than it’s proper now,” he mentioned. “And there’s actually no telling which means it’s going to go at this level.”
If retirement is greater than 10 years away, Segelke says you would transfer some cash to safer locations however you may relaxation assured issues will ultimately bounce again.
If retirement is way away and also you’re questioning whether or not to alter your contribution to your 401k or IRA, Segelke factors out that new cash entering into now’s shopping for low and when issues bounce again your cash will develop.
“I might eve argue it is best to enhance the amount of cash you’re placing in,” he mentioned.
“It’s actually essential that buyers, that folks basically, that we simply, that we don’t freak out. That we don’t get too depressed.”
Whether or not or not you’re investing, Segelke says everybody ought to attempt to deliver down their debt and construct up a 3 to six-month emergency fund and construct up some meals storage.
“Simply do the fundamental issues to verify your funds are on regular floor. So that you simply’re able to climate any storms which can be coming,” he mentioned.
The longer term is unsure. However economists say Utah’s economic system stays sturdy, the strongest within the nation. And it’s not too late to adapt our behaviors to take care of what’s occurring now and put together for one thing worse.
Segelke says we don’t know whether or not a recession is within the close to future however added, “We discover out we’re in a recession after we’re already in it. We don’t get informed, ‘oh there’s a recession coming subsequent month. It’s all the time, ‘oh it began 3 months in the past and we’re already in it.’”
Finance
Trends in residential solar finance, equipment and maintenance
Solar informational site SolarReviews released its annual survey, sharing results gathered from a group mostly represented by residential solar installers, as well as commercial installers, equipment providers, and utility-scale installers. SolarReviews operates a Solar Calculator that enables prospective customers to have a snapshot of the benefits of adding solar to their roof based on customized data for their area.
Finance
With higher financing costs industry-wide, 54% of U.S. installers said customers were less likely to take a solar loan over the past year, while cash deals are up. About 49% of sales reported were cash deals, while 41% were loans. HELOC, PACE loans, power purchase agreements, and leases combined for 10% of reported solar sales.
The top financing providers used were Credithuman (15%), Mosaic (14%), Sunlight Financial (9%),Dividend (8%), and Clean Energy Credit Union (8%).
Typical loans for loaned systems varied widely depending on whether dealer fees were assigned. Average terms are seen below.
Heightened cost of finance has pressed the residential solar industry. About half (49%) of installers said demand went down in 2023 versus 2022.
In California, where rates paid for exporting solar production to the grid were slashed by about 80%, about 69% of installers reported lower sales in California in 2023 versus 2022. However, 68% of installers reported including battery energy storage with their solar installation, about double the national average. Installers report a median payback period of eight years for solar systems with a battery, while standalone solar systems have a longer median payback period of about 10 years.
California was not the only state to cut rates for solar exports, a process known as net metering. Georgia, Arizona, Kansas, Arkansas, and Wisconsin all noted an increase in installed systems not tied to a net metering agreement.
Top products
As for the top equipment brands in residential solar, SolarReviews surveyed installers based on five criteria of performance and quality, brand name reputation, product warranty, pricing, and product availability from distributors. Based on the five criteria, SolarReviews listed Qcells as the top performing panel brand.
Installers said the top five most-used panels were Qcells (53%), REC (41%), Canadian Solar (35%), Mission Solar (29%), and JinkoSolar (20%). About 19% of solar installers offer one panel brand, while the majority provide alternative options to meet the needs of their customers.
For inverters, the top five most-used were Enphase (62%), SolarEdge (43%), SMA (23%), Sol-Ark (21%), and Tesla (21%). Tesla made a notable leap up into the top five, gaining a larger market share than Fronius and Generac.
Enphase was also listed as the most commonly used battery energy storage provider, offered by 46% of installers. This was followed by Tesla (42%), SolarEdge (35%), FranklinWH (29%), and Fortress Power (18%). A sizeable market share was also held by SunPower, Generac, LG Energy Solution, and HomeGrid.
Maintenance
Given that solar is often a 25-year investment, post-installation services are a critical feature in a solar agreement. About 96% of installers have access to system monitoring, while 63% said they proactively check their customers’ installations at least once per quarter to ensure they are working.
The most common reasons for service, in order, were inverter hardware failures and replacement, inverter software and setup issues, battery software updates, communications and monitoring fixes, roof leaks, battery hardware failure or replacement, wiring issues, and broken or underperforming panels.
“Fortunately, when issues do occur, they are often covered by some type of warranty, leaving only 15% of cases where the customer is responsible for repair costs,” said SolarReviews.
Outlook
The residential solar industry looks to recover from a rocky 2023, where growth was slowed by high finance costs and unfavorable policy changes like the reduction of net metering rates.
“Some solar businesses are still reeling from the events of 2023. 22% of solar businesses say they have concerns that make them unsure whether they can stay in business in the coming six months,” said SolarReviews.
Despite this uncertainty, residential solar installers appear to have a good outlook for 2024. About 54% of surveyed installers said they expect to sell more solar in 2024, and an additional 23% said they think they will be able to maintain the same level of business next year.
Notably, surveyed installers listed pv magazine as the top trusted media platform for solar news and analysis, with 52% responding we are the preferred source. The marks the second year in a row as the most-trusted media source. We thank you for your continued readership.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Finance
Crow Wing County is nationally recognized for financial reporting
BRAINERD — For the 10th consecutive year, Crow Wing County was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Financial Reporting.
The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental and financial reporting. The honor is given out by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
The Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting was awarded to Crow Wing County for its 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report compiled in 2023.
The award represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management, the county noted in a news release.
“This is a testament to the type of work that is being done in our Finance Department,” said Finance Director Nancy Malecha. “This award recognizes our commitment in ensuring that our financial data and information is reported accurately, timely and provides transparency that the taxpayers of Crow Wing County deserve.”
Crow Wing County is one of only 16 counties in Minnesota to have earned this award.
The Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Financial Reporting was awarded to Crow Wing County for its 2022 Popular Annual Financial Report.
The annual report extracts information from the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and summarizes the financial position of the county in a simple, easy to read format. Crow Wing County is one of five counties in Minnesota that have received the national award.
Financial reports are available on the Crow Wing County website at
www.crowwing.gov/771/Financial-Statements
.
Finance
Tata Motors’ subsidiaries – TPEM and TMPV join hands with Bajaj Finance, offers financing program for authorized passenger and electric vehicle dealers – Tata Motors
Press release -
May 20, 2024
Tata Motors’ subsidiaries – TPEM and TMPV join hands with Bajaj Finance, offers financing program for authorized passenger and electric vehicle dealers
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) join hands with Bajaj Finance to offer financing program for authorized passenger and electric vehicle dealers. In the image, Mr. Dhiman Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. and Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Mr. Siddhartha Bhatt, Chief Business Officer, Bajaj Finance Ltd. at the MoU signing in Mumbai.
In a bid to improve options and ease of financing for the dealers, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) – subsidiaries of Tata Motors, India’s leading automotive manufacturer, have joined hands with Bajaj Finance, part of Bajaj Finserv Ltd., one of India’s leading and most diversified financial services groups, to extend supply chain finance solutions to its passenger and electric vehicle dealers. Through this memorandum of understanding (MoU), the participating companies will come together to leverage Bajaj Finance’s wide reach to help dealers of TMPV and TPEM access funding with minimal collateral.
The MoU for this partnership was signed by Mr. Dhiman Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. and Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Mr. Siddhartha Bhatt, Chief Business Officer, Bajaj Finance Ltd.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Dhiman Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. and Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., said, “Our dealer partners are integral to our business, and we are happy to actively work towards solutions to help them in ease of doing business. Together, we aim to further grow the market and offer our New Forever portfolio to an increasing set of customers. To that effect, we are excited to partner with Bajaj Finance for this financing program, which will further strengthen the access of our dealer partners to increased working capital.”
Speaking on this partnership, Mr. Anup Saha, Deputy Managing Director, Bajaj Finance Ltd, said, “At Bajaj Finance, we have always strived to provide best-in-class processes by using the India stack for financing solutions that empower both individuals and businesses. Through this financing program, we will arm TMPV and TPEM’s authorized passenger and electric vehicle dealers with financial capital, which will enable them to seize the opportunities offered by a growing passenger vehicles market. We are confident that this collaboration will not only benefit dealers but also contribute to, and enhance the growth of, the automotive industry in India.”
TMPV and TPEM have been pioneering the Indian automotive market with its groundbreaking efforts it both ICE and EV segments. The company’s overarching New Forever philosophy has led to the introduction of segment leading products which are being appreciated by consumers at large.
Bajaj Finance is one of the most diversified NBFCs in India with presence across lending, deposits and payments, serving over 83.64 million customers. As of March 31, 2024, the company’s assets under management stood at ₹3,30,615 crore.
Media Contact Information: Tata Motors Corporate Communications: [email protected] / 91 22-66657613 / www.tatamotors.com
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