Voting with money
I've always felt investing is like voting with money. When you vote for president of the United States, you are voting for the person you believe will make the country better, but also who will have a positive effect on you, your family, job and so on.
In investing, you buy shares of companies you think will be successful so you can make a profit. The money you invest helps keep that business going. Companies finance themselves with your money and buy new equipment, increase marketing, pay their employees, and do whatever they believe will help them be successful.
Now how do you choose what companies to invest in? This is where I feel investing is like voting with money. For example, do I want my dollars to be invested in the stocks of oil companies? I may make a profit when my stock goes up, but I also see the business of oil damaging my environment as well as sapping the wealth of my country to oil exporters overseas?
Some people say that voting doesn't matter or say all politicians are the same. Obviously, history shows us that is not true. It can mean the difference of your country going to war or not, the direction of the economy, the quality of our environment and more.
Every dollar we invest in oil companies (Exxon), cigarette companies (RJR), operating system monopolies like Microsoft, stocks of beer and junk food makers, and one-sided newsmakers such as FOX, (owned by News corp), is like voting for the incumbent politician, saying we want more of this, I want to be fed more of this, use more of this. Its a vote for the status-quo. Its a vote for that kind of world.
Did you know that most of the new money going into the stock market everyday comes from mutual funds? Most mutual funds get their money from people who are investing for their retirement. Have you looked at your retirement account lately? Its very likely that you have some money invested in a mutual fund in your retirement account. With millions of Americans investing into mutual funds through their retirement accounts, it accounts for billions of dollars.
Have you ever seen what your mutual fund's holdings are? Most mutual funds are strictly profit motivated, because that is what most investors want, to see the value of their investments and retirement accounts go up. Makes perfect sense.
However, its is very unlikely that the mutual fund manager is taking into consideration the social, political, environmental, and moral impact of the investments. Would you invest in News Corp? Would you invest in Exxon? You may or may not, but your mutual fund will if they can make a profit.
You may think you only vote once every two or four years, for politicians you think will have an influence on this country. But actually, we vote everyday for the kind of world we want to live in by what we buy with our money. A decision to buy a gas-guzzling SUV rather than an economical fuel efficient hybrid vehicle or a bus pass, is a vote for our current middle east policy to make the Arab Oil Kings more money. That may not have been the initial intention, but that is in effect, the outcome of your vote.
You may think, what options do I have? Hybrid cars are more expensive! Alternative fuel options are not available or not convenient!
But that is why your investment vote is so important. If you invest in companies that make solar cells, wind power machines, hybrid cars, recycling technologies and the like, you are helping to create the options of the future.
What I want to do is vote with my money responsibly. I want my money to go into businesses that are creating a world I want to live in. Recently, I put some money into my retirement account and bought a few shares of GEX. GEX is an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), which holds shares of many companies. The companies in the GEX are all alternative energy companies.
There are many ways to vote responsibly with your money, such as investing in socially responsible mutual funds, buying solar panels for your home, buying energy efficient light bulbs. To create a world you want, your vote really matters.
In investing, you buy shares of companies you think will be successful so you can make a profit. The money you invest helps keep that business going. Companies finance themselves with your money and buy new equipment, increase marketing, pay their employees, and do whatever they believe will help them be successful.
Now how do you choose what companies to invest in? This is where I feel investing is like voting with money. For example, do I want my dollars to be invested in the stocks of oil companies? I may make a profit when my stock goes up, but I also see the business of oil damaging my environment as well as sapping the wealth of my country to oil exporters overseas?
Some people say that voting doesn't matter or say all politicians are the same. Obviously, history shows us that is not true. It can mean the difference of your country going to war or not, the direction of the economy, the quality of our environment and more.
Every dollar we invest in oil companies (Exxon), cigarette companies (RJR), operating system monopolies like Microsoft, stocks of beer and junk food makers, and one-sided newsmakers such as FOX, (owned by News corp), is like voting for the incumbent politician, saying we want more of this, I want to be fed more of this, use more of this. Its a vote for the status-quo. Its a vote for that kind of world.
Did you know that most of the new money going into the stock market everyday comes from mutual funds? Most mutual funds get their money from people who are investing for their retirement. Have you looked at your retirement account lately? Its very likely that you have some money invested in a mutual fund in your retirement account. With millions of Americans investing into mutual funds through their retirement accounts, it accounts for billions of dollars.
Have you ever seen what your mutual fund's holdings are? Most mutual funds are strictly profit motivated, because that is what most investors want, to see the value of their investments and retirement accounts go up. Makes perfect sense.
However, its is very unlikely that the mutual fund manager is taking into consideration the social, political, environmental, and moral impact of the investments. Would you invest in News Corp? Would you invest in Exxon? You may or may not, but your mutual fund will if they can make a profit.
You may think you only vote once every two or four years, for politicians you think will have an influence on this country. But actually, we vote everyday for the kind of world we want to live in by what we buy with our money. A decision to buy a gas-guzzling SUV rather than an economical fuel efficient hybrid vehicle or a bus pass, is a vote for our current middle east policy to make the Arab Oil Kings more money. That may not have been the initial intention, but that is in effect, the outcome of your vote.
You may think, what options do I have? Hybrid cars are more expensive! Alternative fuel options are not available or not convenient!
But that is why your investment vote is so important. If you invest in companies that make solar cells, wind power machines, hybrid cars, recycling technologies and the like, you are helping to create the options of the future.
What I want to do is vote with my money responsibly. I want my money to go into businesses that are creating a world I want to live in. Recently, I put some money into my retirement account and bought a few shares of GEX. GEX is an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), which holds shares of many companies. The companies in the GEX are all alternative energy companies.
There are many ways to vote responsibly with your money, such as investing in socially responsible mutual funds, buying solar panels for your home, buying energy efficient light bulbs. To create a world you want, your vote really matters.
posted by Mark at
3:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home