Can You Be an Ethical Investor?

Is there a way to strengthen your portfolio without being a "part of the problem"? Actually, there is!

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Two Cents was created by Katie Graham, Andrew Matthews, Philip Olson CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson and is brought to you by PBS Digital Studios. We love dropping some knowledge on all things personal finance and helping you make better money decisions.

Two Cents is hosted by Philip Olson, CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson, AFC®
Directors: Katie Graham & Andrew Matthews
Written by: Philip Olson, CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson, AFC®
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Produced by: Katie Graham
Edited & Animated by: Dano Johnson
Images by: Shutterstock
Music by: APM

[annamay]

I‘m so glad you guys touched that issue, that held me back from investing in stocks for so long. I‘m sure this will reach a lot of ppl with these same worries. Congrats!

[tomchopske]

This is probably the first time I’ve seen this topic tackled. I’m glad to see it. Thank you

[dereksilvers]

2 cents is my favorite finance youtube channel!

[FinancialShinanigan]

Hard to back ESG investing when the biggest international ESG fund on M1 Finance has Nestle as its top holding

[berkantsmith]

Nice headline, starting out an investment and becoming an ethical investor is easy and everyone can indulge. I believe in the law of compound interest and leveraging.

[qwerty_and_azerty]

My main concern is that the ESG score can be easily manipulated. Is there any way to prevent this? How do we know the rating agencies are considering the same factors that are important to me?

For example, if an oil company diversifies into renewables, I’m guessing their E score will go up. But in my opinion, that fact that they still primarily deal in oil should keep their E score way down. Similarly, if a clothing brand donates to charities, I’m guessing their S score will go up. But the fact that they almost certainly use sweat shops and child labour abroad means, in my opinion, that their S score should be extremely low.

[russellchase]

My best stock purchase this year was actually a clean energy ETF (ACES). It's up 160% for the year!

[louicoleman]

My grandma is an accountant for a Catholic Nun group with an ‘ethical’ fund chock full of oil stocks! 🤣 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Demonfireangel]

John Stossel already did a video on this. His video is titled "The 'Socially Responsible' Scam". In a nutshell, these "socially responsible" funds charge higher fees but their holdings are no different than other funds. Just another way for fund managers to sell you overpriced investment products so that you can "feel good" about yourself for making a difference (in reality, you're not).

[kelvinwilliam]

I realized that the secret to making a million is making better investment. I always tell myself you don't need that new Car or that vacation just yet and that mindset helps me make more money invest:ng. For example last year I invested 70k in blue chip stocks and crypt0 s (with the help of my advisor of course) and made about 380k, but guess what? I put it back and traded with her again and now I'm rounding up close to a million. Delayed gratification always pays off

[JustTheTip]

Gotta love that the early investing of EV, renewable energy stocks, and such are finally paying off.

[Iffy]

I have never even heard of ESG investing before this, thank you for the introduction!

[thinktransnational]

That's has been one of the most informative finance video I've ever seen! Thank you both for sharing this topic.

[Devinfrbs]

Last time I actually dove into the holdings of my normal index funds vs esg funds, I found 90+% of the esg funds hold the same investments as regular index funds.

[VIDEOHEREBOB]

The problem we have these days is knowing who and what to believe. My thinking and approach to life has radically changed as a result of recent experiences, namely with Amazon. I would not purchase so much as a toothpick from that company.

[oliviajuarez]

I recently started investing last year and I would constantly ask myself if this is a company I want to support. Thank you so much for this video! Absolutely love your channel ❤

[brandong]

I loved that little response segment. I would love to see more of that but again great jobs guys.

[pavithra]

I never seen investment in this point of view . Thanks guys you're doing a wonderful job enlightening many...

[vgls]

I've been researching on the morality of investing (not day trading) and a few days later your video popped up in my notifications. This helps a lot, thank you!

[loranddeka]

No investment or company will be 100% ethical on every issue. You'll probably need to decide for yourself what is ethically important to you and what you're willing to turn a blind eye to.