Socially Responsible Investing

Posted by A. Caleb Hartley on March 1st, 2008 filed in investing, retirement

We all want to retire someday.  I want to retire tomorrow.  Make that Monday - I need to get my personal belongings from my cube.

Many of us participate in our company’s 401k plan (for you non-USA folks - it’s a “defined contribution plan” - a way for our employers to get out of having to pay us after we retire and until we die while still making us feel like they are helping us toward retirement).  Retirement used to be a “three-legged stool,” one leg was our company’s retirement plan, another leg was USA’s social security, and the third leg was our own savings.

Today, that three-legged stool has become a wobbly two-legged stool - wobbly because social security is less and less ensured and because, well, it only has two legs.  Our 401k plans are really just savings, and any company that has a 401k most likely does not have a “defined benefit plan” also - they generally just match a portion of your savings.  Woe to the employee who is not contributing to their 401k plan, however.  A one-legged stool is really hard to keep upright - especially if the one remaining leg is social security.

So what do we do?  Many of us who read (and write) this blog may not invest for more than just the obvious reason of having no extra money to do so.  We might not invest because we don’t want to support “evil” corporations that pollute the earth, suppress their employees freedoms, poison the population of the world with addiction, or build things made specifically to destroy other things - the list could go on forever.

Have no fear, dear reader, for environmentastic! is going to show you the path to a secure retirement while keeping your eco-mojo intact.  So stay tuned for several posts discussing ways to choose your investments based on what’s important to you, as well as investment companies that already do the legwork for you.  It’s up to you how involved you want to be in your investments - whether you are investing toward retirement, toward college expenses for your children, or just because you like the game.  We’ll also discuss different philosophies of socially responsible investing (SRI) so you can choose which route you want to take with your investments. 

This will be fun!

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley

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Do you invest in your company’s 401k? Do they match your investment at all? Does your company even have a 401k? Do you screen the companies you invest in? Talk about both kinds of green - money and environment - in the comments!

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