Mar. 6, 2020
I invested in "Socially Responsible Investments" for a few years from approximately 2005 to 2009 through Fidelity workplace 401k & 403b with the stupidly hopeful intent of girding the underpinnings of the world with healthy and income generating outcomes for me and those I invested in. I earned nothing. Balance 0. I noticed that ... 1. it was difficult to determine exactly where my money was going and for what purpose and 2. that there were sectors of industry listed in the portfolio that I would not consider "Socially Responsible" eg, big oil and others. I suspect that the good old boys network, market-driven, quick return and short-term views underpin decisions by investment firms rather than supporting projects such as alternative energy or mending the ecosystems in all its forms that we capitalists have scarred all over the world in our quest for money. (think Cheney) It hit me like an electric shock when listening to an interview with Brian Deese, BlackRock's global head of sustainable investing, that I think I heard a joy of opportunistic investing and profiteering in the fall of the world economies because of climate change in the sense of "Well, we can't stop it but, we can make money off of it on the way down" Maybe a good example would be that I should invest in a company that markets masks in an eco-friendly way because viruses like COVID-19 and other planet disasters that require products are coming fast. I hope I'm wrong but we are all stupid and short-term driven because our lives are short and our brains can't jump beyond our 3-year old capabilities when it comes to survival. GOOD LUCK and thank you for the opportunity to express myself on this topic. Patricia Hoerth (trying to, at the very least, do no harm with my investments)