Is Ethical Investing for millionaires only?
If you have money that you want invested to align with your values and your ethical standards but you’re not a millionaire, are there options?
Yes. Though it’s still the early days.
Told in the 1970s that I might soon die from kidney disease I asked about food and chemical additives. The answers? “Not a real issue” and “You’re crazy”. I thought “how could chemical-laden food not affect my kidneys, their job is to clean my blood?”
That led me into the then foreign to me world of health food stores, and later to organic gardening and eating healthily. It was important to me to feel empowered. (A friend gave me her kidney in 2007 and all is well for both of us. And I became an investor in organic food.)
Maybe today’s financial world feels similar to you?
Despite the gargantuan power and reach of finance, surprisingly few products and options exist for we who care. I feel responsible for what my money is doing to people and places. No perfect answer exists yet, but it’s become my life path in business to bridge this gap.
Social Responsible Investing (SRI), screening the global stock and bond markets for “less bad” companies, has been championing for broad availability for decades. That’s a crucial first step.
More proactive opportunities are growing and appearing, but you have to work harder to find them. Like early SRI, advisors and family may urge you to stick with conventional options but ask yourself, is it okay to make money on activities you find morally wrong?
Now is the time to ask annoying questions so that wealth managers will seed new products in mutual funds, retirement plans, bank accounts & insurance.
Below are American and Canadian resources for new options. Those will multiply. You can start small to test or go big if reducing risk to people and place is paramount.
- Canadian and American Sustainable and impact investing opportunities
- Impact Investing for Non-Zillionaires
This movement is growing as interest and awareness expands, and sharing is one way to build awareness. Please share your discoveries and questions on my Facebook Page so we can help each other make money cleaner.