Yes I know that this is not an ethics game. I understand that many rules are bent to make money.
However I can, for the most part, control only my choices and I choose not to invest in AMZN, PLTR etc. etc.
My question is, for people with similar concerns, what companies do you invest in?
The scope is broad: companies that can contribute something to humanity/technology, companies that treat their employees well, companies that make something simply useful to people, companies that do not make shady government deals?
This is not an attempt to flex my ideals onto anyone, just looking for ideas!
Posted by jVoodoo
27 Comments
Not living is the most ethical thing imo!
Tried some ESGs?
I’ve thought abt this a lot too and tbh I keep wondering if ethical investing is more abt intention than a clean answer… like even companies that seem good on the surface prob have some tradeoffs we just don’t see personally I end up leaning toward boring stuff that feels… useful? like healthcare, some tech that’s more infrastructure than hype. but even then i second guess it curious how u deal w that part, like do u have clear lines or is it more a constant adjusting thing..
If you’re seeking to be ethical you shouldn’t be engaging in capitalism.
LMT, NOC, GD, RTX
It’s really tricky because you don’t always know what companies do behind the curtains, and also most companies are a mix of good and bad.
One thing I might suggest is to start with one of those thematic ETFs – ethical, or green, or organic etc. Then, deep dive into a few of their holdings to ensure they pass your sniff test rather than some reference standard the ETF company are using.
Personally I just avoid investing directly in the more evil companies. If something is part of an etf, I justify it as contributing an inconsequential amount
My cynical take is you can’t, they’re all private. Point being any public company is purely driven by greed, to appease shareholders who only care about 1 thing, profits. Rarely does a company’s product improve once they go public, nor are they going to go against a decision and do the right thing if it minimizes profit
Trading in the market is definitely dirty money because it rewards the ills of society. Job cuts, rewards, raising product prices for consumers, rewarded. It does suck because despite it being dirty money, our retirement relies on it.
If you’re serious, look into inverse fund… I.e inverse big oil, defense etc… Only downside is you can’t hold longterm. They’re volatility and fund managers take huge cuts (because capitalism)
Look into CWEN.
Green energy stock that pays huge dividend.
you’re looking to read some honeyed words and be left holding some bags is that it
what the fuck is ethical anyway? killing russian invaders in ukraine for example seems pretty ethical to me
Check for best in the ESG class stocks
Costco is one of the very few. They actually pay and treat their workers and customers well.
Google. It’s working on medicines thru ai.
ESG screeners are what you’d be looking for.
You’re going to get a lot of ridiculous responses here. People get so upset anytime someone brings this up. It’s your money you can invest however you want.
You would have to vet them one by one since the devil is in the details. You pick industries that fit your greater good criteria.
Then you read and decide how much margins are ‘fair’ to you. If they have to bake in higher margins for their distributors to take a cut and help them drive volume sales is that fair for you? Or is it unethical since chances are the pricing gets passed onto the end consumer?
Then after narrowing, you have to look if they’re paying ‘fair wages’, giving bonuses, not having layoffs. Chances are, these qualities you’re looking for are in direct conflict because without being capitalistic and selling things for ‘more profit’, you don’t earn enough to pay your employees a ‘fair wage’. You have to calibrate what you feel is ethical on both ends, it’s zero sum.
Then more qualitative stuff like any bad press in the news about things they’re doing. Deciding if you care if they’re into ESG (or if you think that’s performative).
Even then there’s probably stuff that goes unseen but you would have at least done your homework.
IRGC
Don’t trade on emotions
Fastned
United therapeutics has a good story on its founding to do good
GH – Guardant health
Just buy gold ETFs then bro. Literally all businesses have unethical practices of all kinds: reliance on sweatshops, paying below minimum wage, cracking down on unions, unlawful data collection and processing and sale, testing on animals, investing in or loaning to companies that carry out all the above etc.
Would it be more ethical to invest heavily into the stocks you consider evil and use the votes to influence the leadership and direction of the company? You could also use the profits to directly oppose the effects of the company that you don’t like. Refusing to own shares of an evil company doesn’t decrease the amount of shares held or change the actions of the company.
There was a mutual fund that I cannot remember the name of but it was essentially the S&P without the “sin” stocks like gambling, war, weapons, etc… it was offered in our 401 choices. Not an individual stock tho..
Costco
So I bought Palantir when they were below 20 and sold them shortly after as I did not like their CIA close connections. I do not regret it at all. Donated all the profit to a poor family.
Buy municipal bonds in basic services of your local governments.