Today we continue with our discussion on Ethical Investing…
yes, but what are the returns?
The bottom line is the bottom line is the bottom line – I could go on all day. But obviously we all want a good return for our investment so we can spend our retirement cruising, volunteering and looking after our grandchildren, but does ethical investing offer reasonable returns?
Trevor Thomas, Managing Director of ethinvest, says studies show that ethical investments pay returns commensurate with traditional investing. Some studies show traditional investing slightly outperforming ethical investments, other studies show the ethical investments ahead by a nose. So over time, you can reasonably expect to see your ethical portfolio perform similarly to others investments.
so, why should I bother?
The cold hard truth is that in many places in the world, people are exploited in order to make money. This is easy for us to ignore, because we are usually far removed from these injustices. But the reality is that many publicly traded companies use exploitative practices to increase profits. And when we benefit from those profits, well… we are part of the problem.
Jesus redeemed us with his life. We were bought at a high price, and are greatly valued. So are people who work in sweatshops! Jesus values their life as highly as ours. So Ethical investing is a relatively easy way of saying ‘I believe human beings are of immeasurable worth, their value is not found in how many pairs of sneakers they can make today’.
ok, I am almost convinced. But how do I go about investing ethically?
- Contact your Super Fund and elect to have your Superannuation invested in an ethical portfolio. All major super funds should have this option, and if not, ask ‘Why not?’
- Speak to your fund manager about ethical investing options
- Look at transferring your superannuation fund which seeks to invest ethically. Australian Christian Super (you can find their website here) is one such fund but there are many others.
- Put your money under the mattress*
*Disclaimer: Putting your money under the mattress may not result in reasonable returns on your investment.
