damon_achey

So who here (athiest or not) takes a companies alignment to your morals or beliefs into account before investing? Just curious after reading things like this.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/030501/finan...atholic_1.html

And if you do, to what degree. Just stay out of the major industries (like not investing in playboy (PLA if you against porn, gawd forbid!, or avoiding oil companies if you are pro environment, etc.) or do you go all the way to not investing in companies that even contribute money/support to things you don't believe in.

I'll start by saying the few companies I do invest in, I do because I completely understand their business and pottential, not because of what they happen to directe it towards.

Pyrrho

I invest, but never in companies that are involved in practices with which I disapprove (unless, of course, they do things that I don't know about). Frankly, whenever you invest in a company, you are effectively paying them to do whatever it is that they are doing. You are helping them do whatever it is that they do.

From what you have said (if you really mean it), you would be willing to invest in a slave company, if one existed, and if it were likely to turn a high profit. I would regard such an investment as grossly immoral.

(Additionally, the "socially responsible" investments that I made before some of the drops in the stock market in recent years turned out to be much better financially than most investments people made. Poetic justice is a very good thing.)

damon_achey

I didn't mean to that extreme. A more subtle example would be if you were in the tech industry and you believed micro$oft to be an evil monopoly, would you invest in them if you thought it was a financially sound thing to do. Or possibly in a research company looking for new cures through stem cell research if you disagreed with it.

Pyrrho

So now we are talking about the extent to which one is consistent with one's own morals, rather than totally ignoring them when investing.

If I believed Microsoft to be an evil monopoly, I would not invest in it. If I did not believe that stem cell research was ethical, I would not invest in it. (Note to all reading this: Please notice that these are hypothetical statements; I do not wish to discuss what specifically I am willing to invest in and what specifically I am not willing to invest in.)

My question is, why would anyone else be different? If you were really serious when you say, "X is wrong", why would you ever be willing to give people money to do "X"? It is extremely hypocritical to invest in a company, and to say that what they are doing is wrong.

In my opinion, whenever someone says that something is wrong, and they still knowingly invest in companies that do that thing, then they are not really serious about what they claim is wrong; it is an empty claim. As in most such matters, actions speak louder than words.

OCLonghorn

I think of "investments" as helping a company "do what it does". As such, I would think that one should include in ones decisions factors other than simple profitability.

Now if we were referring to simply using products/services based on political/moral stances...I understand that it is a very effective (and sometimes the only) mechanism to voice one's opinion and exert pressure. But I feel that this is somewhat unfair and is a form of "blackmail" or "blacklisting".

Take the Masters controversy for instance. That women's group didn't have anything against whatever sponsors the Master's may have had, but they made it clear that their association with Augusta Nat'l would have consequences.

Dixie Tricks too...I didn't like them to begin with, but I didn't have a problem with what they said...Their fans, though, are trying to exert pressure on other entities (their label, radio stations/sponsors) to hurt them. I understand it, but it seems unfair (to the label or radio stations)

This then takes me to a related issue...does it matter to those who would boycott "X" that ABC company is NOT against "X", but is only going along with the boycott to keep the money coming in?

Sarpedon

I avoid armament manufacturers.