Going green can’t go wrong with these investment tips that make your money work for you and the planet.
1. Consider what ethical means.
There are many different criteria of “ethical” under which to categorise a fund and businesses that involve nuclear energy, animal testing or tobacco are some of the commonly screened-out industries when people are thinking of ethical investment. But before you can sensibly choose an investment fund that may match your profile, you need to ask yourself if you are against an alleged cause for a higher purpose or just for the sake of going against it.
2. Carry out research.
Some fund managers have strong teams looking into socially responsible investment, some aim to filter out redundant funds, while others actively invest in companies working in areas such as pollution control, clean fuel and healthcare services. Carry out research and do a background search before deciding to invest in any of the green sectors that might be of interest to you.
3. Consider an ethical IFA.
If you are not comfortable choosing investment funds, consider taking some advice from ethical IFAs or look for an IFA who specialises in ethical investment.
4. Determine your attitude to risk. Review and reflect on your attitude to risk.
If you are a low-risk investor, you might want to avoid stocks and shares altogether, while aggressive investors would consider investing in high-risk companies such as renewable energy start-ups.To reduce risk, diversify your funds or sectors and spread your investments around different funds, sectors or even geographical areas.
5. Choose a fund manager carefully.
Investors should look into a manager’s ethical criteria and see if these are rigorous, or if the fund has a specialist team or if it has a position on new investment opportunities such as biofuels, organic food, climate change, waste, and water, and so on.
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