Ethical Invetment Funds vs Green Investment Funds

D

davocon

Guest
Hi All,

Just reading up on all thess Green/Ethical Funds that seem to be everywhere at the moment. Was thinking of investing in some as their performance in Ireland seem to be pretty good.

One opinion i have tough is that Ethical and Green are two different things.. just because a fund is ethical doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be green i.e. investing in a company who treats their employee's well. Ethical? Yes Green No?

Just wondering if anyone had anything to say on the whole distinction part??

Ragards,

D
 
It's a very astute observation. As the terms "ethical" or "green" are merely marketing terms with no legal meaning, you really do need to read through the bumpf on a particular investment to establish the credentials of your particular investment.

Look out also for "positive selection" and "negative selection". The latter takes a list of stocks and then simply filters out some. (...e.g...."We won't invest in companies that do this, that or the other.") The former actively seeks out companies that meet criteria. (...e.g. "We only invest in companies that do this, that or the other.") Positive selection tends to be "greener".
 
Do a search for previous threads/discussions on these issues. I'm also skeptical about the branding of something (not just investment funds) as ethical or green since these things are not always so simple and not necessarily objective terms.
 
ClubMan said:
Do a search for previous threads/discussions on these issues. I'm also skeptical about the branding of something (not just investment funds) as ethical or green since these things are not always so simple and not necessarily objective terms.
Click to expand...

Only too true unfortunately, stay skeptical.

Take "free green renewable" wind energy for example. I don't invest in industrial wind power companies for ethical reasons. In Ireland they tend to get built in wilderness upland areas, kill birds and destroy habitats. The CO2 emission from excavated and drained bogs is comparable to or exceeds the emissions from gas turbine plant. They are so aggressively subsidised that developers will stop at nothing to get them built, sell on to an operator and pocket a pile of consumers money.

So despite the "green" label, i don't invest that racket even if it might make money.
 
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