This inspiring presentation will define what is Socially Responsible Investing and ways you can make a difference in the world with your money choices. This talk was given on September 24, 2016 at the first ever VegFest Oahu in Honolulu, Hawaii. Speaker Michael Kramer is Owner and Advisor at Natural Investments LLC and author of the book: The Resilient Investor – A Plan for Your Life, Not Just Your Money. He calls himself a “recovering capitalist trying to figure out how to channel capital (money) into something that will help create the society that we all want to live in. ” His talk discusses what you can do with your money choices to reflect who you are with your values.
Some favorite quotes from his talk:
“We think investors have a right to know. We want to require the disclosure of political contributions. I won’t use Verizon because I know how much money they contribute to the conservative side of the political equation… Imagine if all companies were required to disclose that publicly then you would know that and could make a decision about whether you want to own that company.” (Timecode 21:40).
“We have not fixed hardly any of the problems that caused that financial meltdown eight years ago… It is still going on because the Republicans in congress want to treat the economy like the Wild West.” (Timecode 22:20).
“Community Investing is stuff outside of the stock and bond market. These types of entities are recirculating capital locally and really helping regular people.When you put money in a big bank, the money is going all over the world and you have no idea what they are investing in. They could be investing in nuclear power plants and things you don’t agree with. These Community Investing Institutions only invest in their members locally and the communities in which they operate.” (Timecode 25:15).
“If you really want to diversify the way you are investing then you should be investing in all three asset types: personal, tangible and financial. Most people just invest in stocks, bonds. Don’t just do that. If the financial system has hiccups in the future you want to be protected. We want to think about what else we can invest in that is local and community based. The real resilient life requires you to assess how you’re doing in each of these nine zones.” (Timecode 38:04)
Michael answers the following questions from the audience:
- What are the risks in doing socially responsible investing?
- Do you have a way to determine the companies that are most unsustainable?
- If you have an old 401k can you move it to these socially responsible funds without any consequences?
We want to thank The Pollination Project for giving VegFest Oahu a grant which included funding to pay for the editing of this video. Since 2013, The Pollination Project has made daily seed grants to inspiring social change-makers who are committed to a world that works for all. Everyday they invest in projects that create a more sustainable, just, peaceful, and compassionate world. We are grateful VegFest Oahu is among those projects!
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