Letters to the Editor
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@jtd
Blunt and weak tools? I agree with the blunt part of that. The tools are weak only to the extent that the shareholders disenfranchise themselves. Kinda like a democracy. Also like a democracy, current management will try to stack the board with lackeys. There's always that sort of tension as management tries to accrue power and wealth at the expense of those that own the company.
Other than that, yes, green interests have to contend with the interests of the other shareholders. Such is the rough and tumble. It helps to be bigger.
So the issue is being big enough to be heard and to then present a credible case that it pays to be green. The hard part is "credible". Emotional or faith based arguments don't work when the other side is using t charts, spread sheets, and projections. Hmmm, projections. That's where people hide the stuff they pull out of their butts. Gotta sell the projections.
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Socially Responsible Consumption much more important
I'm going to jump on the bandwagon of voices that feel green investing in general doesn't do very much to actually improve the environment.
I rather spend my money investing smartly based on fundamentals (fundamentals that I feel should support good environmental stewardship) and take the money I earn so I can spend it on products of environmentally conscience companies.
This is not stay good that investors have no effect on corporate policies, but as an individual most people can do more good by proper consumption.
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@Tyler_Mason
I don't have firsthand experience here, so take this with a grain of salt. My understanding, though, is that shareholder democracy is fairly toothless. Management has many ways of dodging, stalling, pacifying, sabotaging, or simply ignoring shareholder motions when it cares to. When a company is in crisis, sometimes a broad shareholder action can set direction. But in ordinary cases, where a battle with management would be called for, most capable management knows it holds the cards.
Like I said, though, shareholders can serve a useful advisory/watchdog role. But they're not the "deciders".
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Herd Investing
If you want to "be green," why put money into the stock market?
We've been told by everyone for some time now that the stock market is the bees knees. We have to invest in it for the future. If we don't, we'll ...die? Go broke? Be poor(er)?
For some reason, it's rarely questioned *why* everyone is supposed to invest in stocks. As has been mentioned, shareholders don't really steward their corporations. And mutual funds completely divest the fund shareholder from the corporate entities that the fund owns shares of.
Why not buy gold? Or real estate?
Oh, the stockmarket has outperformed everything over the past 50 years. But not the past 20, oddly.
Hmm...how long 'til you retire? That stock market thing is starting to look a bit dicey.
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Benefits of Green Investing
I'm not sure about the benefits--that would have been good ground to cover in, oh, an article on green investing.
Could Salon please hire a competent reporter to write this column? A column on green living is a good idea in theory, but the two or three column's of Clarren's have been completely worthless.
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Making Money
The fund manager said you will do "very well" investing with him but his web site show that his fund has lagged behind the S&P this year, over the last 3 years and the last 10. Only their 5-year average exceed S&P gains. One may want to invest "green" for other reasons (though most letters indicate that doing so has little positive environmental effect), but green is apparently not where the money is - at least not yet.
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green investing
i recently started handling funds from a trust fund set up for me when i was a child and now have a "green" investment firm managing my assets. when these funds were turned over, they were heavily invested in oil companies and other companies like coca cola with a history of irresponsible social activities. even though this stock has been very productive over the past 30 years, i am now in the process of selling it and investing more consciously and balancing my stock-heavy portfolio.
in my experience over the past year, the green-investments have been doing extremely well, totally exceeding any expectations i had. although i've only started handling my own assets, it has shown me that you really don't have to choose anymore. i have to mention that there are no guarantees when it comes to investing, but even if green-investments aren't performing as well as other stock, in the long run, these profits will be seen when we collectively come to terms with the costly consequences of managing natural weather disasters and the loss of oil supplies.
also, when people are willing to invest in companies that are socially/environmentally responsible, (hopefully) this will give corporations incentive to clean up their act, and show government that caring for the planet and it's resources is important to it's citizens.