Investing in Ethical Financial Products part 2
Nov
01
Staking your money on ethical stocks
If you hold company shares directly, ask those companies about their business ethics and find out if they produce a social or environmental report.
You can invest in ethical index funds on an ethical exchange, and by buying shares and investing in companies with strong corporate social responsibility, you can encourage and support them. Another way to make businesses greener is to buy shares in companies that need to change so that you can attempt to have your voice heard and influence the company’s behaviour through shareholder meetings and your voting rights.
The FTSE4Good is a stock market index listing firms that have particularly ethical trading policies. Some investment funds track that index — so if the value of the shares in the index as a whole goes up your investment is worth more. Ethex is an ethical stock exchange where investors can buy and sell shares in ethical companies such as Fairtrade companies, explained in the upcoming ‘Looking at lending practices’ section.
The value of your investments can go up or down — there are no guarantees. Even if a company’s shares have done well in the past that doesn’t mean its share values will continue to go up in future. You’re taking a gamble so don’t gamble with money you can’t afford to lose. That goes for any stock market investment — ethical or not. And ethical investments don’t always give you as good a return as non-ethical ones. Shares in companies that manufacture drugs, tobacco, and arms often perform better. You may have to pay for your green principles.
If you want to invest in ethical companies through the stock market take advice from a stockbroker who understands the ethical markets. There’s information on how to get in touch with one in the upcoming section ‘Finding Green Financial Advice’.
Investing in insurance
You can even find ethical insurance policies if you look hard enough. Talk to your current insurance provider, and shop around by calling other companies, enlisting the services of an insurance broker, or contacting the Ethical Investment Research Service (EIRIS).
An ethical insurance firm may fund environmental or animal welfare projects. One example for pet lovers is Animal Friends Insurance, a not-for-profit organisation that uses any money it makes to help animals in need around the world. Examples of some of the projects it has helped are The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, the Born Free foundation, and The Philippine Dog Rescue, as well as various projects in the UK.
Choosing an Ethical Institution
When it comes to investing your money you have to decide which financial institutions and products match up to your own standards on what’s green or ethical. You may want to save through a mainstream high street organisation and be more interested in the countries it invests in than whether or not it deals with firms that use child labour, or you may prefer a lender that doesn’t deal with firms that pollute or damage the environment. You may want to shun the big banks and building societies in favour of the kinds of organisations that offer special investments to people with particular faiths and beliefs or that invest at a local level. Shop around, ask what each organisation’s ethical or green policy is, and consider all the alternatives before coming to your decision.
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