Let me make a couple of quick points that I think might be helpful to you.

1. If you don't have a lot of money to invest, it may be more appropriate for you to find a good mutual fund that can do the stock picking for you. If you have questions about why I think this, just ask.

2. If you want to know more about some of the sustainability measures used by one fund company to evaluate large U.S. corporations, check out this web site - http://www.calvert.com/sri_calvertratings.html

Hope this helps you get started.

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The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes represent one of many SRI screening systems. DJ takes a "best in class" approach to choosing which stocks will be included. This means that they do not exclude any whole industry, but instead choose the members of each industry that (according to their standards) are sustainability leaders.

Other (in my view more rigorous) screening systems require every stock included in their index to pass each of their standards on at least a minimal level. The result of this process can be that a whole industry (such as major oil companies, for example) are excluded.

One important question to ask yourself when choosing between these two approaches - Am I more concerned with maintaining broad sector diversification or limiting social / environmental damage in my investments?

For more on these issues, see my earlier post - How 'green' do you want to be?

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Oder werde ich "willkommen" sagen?

In any case, I'm happy to have you join our group. Thanks for mentioning the power we all have in where we spend and invest our money.

Germany has a strong tradition with socially responsible investing and also is setting a good example with its support for solar power and energy efficiency.

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I currently have some liquid funds that I am seeking to invest in a GREEN WAY!  

 I am very involoved with tech stocks and feel to diviersify rite now would be the best thing I can do with these funds!

I was thinking of First Solar but since last time I looked at them they are now out of my reach of 251+.

I would be interested in a Solar Company in the United States or someone who works with a company in the US.

I would like to be able to keep the funds within these United States!  Even though CHINA now owns these United States of America!

Thank you!

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It's great to see you join this group. I admire your love for conservation and your desire to support this work through your involvement in business.

One of the most satisfying things in this world is to find something you love to do and then develop a way to get paid for it. Perhaps by volunteering to help with local conservation efforts you could begin to find your life's work.

Passion + Experience = Expertise

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If you have some money to invest and feel you need to diversify, maybe it's time to consider a mutual fund.

Unless you enjoy researching stocks and keeping tabs on them, it may be a good idea to delegate that job.

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I've joined for a couple of reasons:

Partly because I sincerely believe that as consumers and investors it is our responsibility to invest our money with our values.


And partly because I write a blog that occasionally dabbles in advising on Socially Responsible Investing (among other topics) and I am always on the lookout for opinions/information/relevant websites/inspiration . . .



Meg

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Socially responsible investing is actually a pretty new concept to me - I've never really been interested in personal wealth until this year. I'm looking more for basic sort of tips or informational articles, but I'm also doing my own research in the meantime so I'll read whatever's here!

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For some ideas on where to get started, check the archived messages in this group. Enjoy!

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I choose to be socially-responsible because I believe with the right environment and frame of mind and effort we can clean up this mess in every way possible. I am a parent and I want the best for my children and their surrounding environment. I clean with green and it's healthier, so much better and Imy family and I feel great. Even though I work in ministries, I still will promote being socially-responsible. Thank U.

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No matter what one's religion, respect for human rights, the earth and all life forms is not a foreign concept. Hopefully more and more people will come to see social and environmental factors as essential to the process of judging an investment's potential risks and value.

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