This Week's News Letter

October 15, 2006

Socially Responsible Investing

This week I am going to stray a little bit from the ‘basics’ I usually talk about. I have a small biotech company that I have put money in and out of for the past year. It has been a rollercoaster stock, and not one that fits my normal guidelines. The book value of the stock only about 48 cents and right now it is trading at $2.33. (The company is Generex Biotechnology symbol GNBT) and before I go any further, I am not recommending investing in this stock. It is extremely volatile, and may be worth nothing soon.

The reason I bring it up is because I was talking about it with a friend and she asked about their drug testing process. The question took me by surprise. I really had no response. She told me that unless she could feel good about the company and their practices, she couldn’t invest in them. I could relate to that as a general point of view, but I hadn’t gotten to the level she was talking about. I didn’t invest in Phillip Morris, feeling that tobacco is a blight on humanity, but how does the principal apply when you look at it more liberally?

Some of the makeup companies have disclaimers stating they do not test their products on animals. (Who ever saw a chimp with eye liner?) I have seen ads on TV for companies that claim to preserve the environment. How much do you let that impact your investing? I like to think that my choices are not harmful to the environment, or to people, but where do you draw the line? How deep do you have to dig to make sure the company isn’t doing harm?

Some of my investments are in sustainable energy, but really it is more because I know oil can’t last forever, and we are seeing that now. The replacement energy has to be renewable, and who is developing the next big thing?

I am not preaching here. I am bringing up a point that you may wish to consider. Investing is about making money, but you also need to be able to sleep at night. No one wants to invest in Chernobyl, but sometimes the choices we make are not as clear as that.

Food for thought...

Good Solid investing to all

Rob

Rob@WealthTrainingSource.com

Autoresponder by ListMail Pro. to orderClick Here!

Want a scholarship into the Millionaire Mind Intensive worth $2590?

http://www.secretsofthemillionairemind.com

The columns, articles, message board posts and/or any other features provided on Wealth Training Source are provided for personal finance and investment information and are not to be construed as investment advice. Under no circumstances does the information in this content represent a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. The views and opinions expressed in an article or column are the author’s own and there is no implied endorsement by Robert Britt of any advice or trading strategy