In the recent past, investing for good has been out of fashion!
How extraordinary that fighting climate change and social good are unfashionable.
My mother died of lung cancer at the age of 66. She did not smoke heavily; she could not afford to. She was encouraged to smoke, as cigarettes were a beneficial product for people with breathing difficulties!
That was the message from cigarette companies, knowing how bad their product was but lying to maintain profits.
Today, the oil and gas companies, supported by many politicians, tell us we need oil and will do so for the next 30 year! The science tells us a different story.
I am neither politician nor scientist, but I do believe the science and am sceptical of the politicians.
As a financial adviser I have to take my clients’ needs into account and therefore financial returns are the number one priority.
Fortunately, there is every reason to suppose the future money will go to support the new technologies, alternative energy, better battery storage, better insulated homes. My job is to guide clients towards the opportunities.
As I do that, I also have a commitment to support the health of our food chain.
Sitting in a neighbour’s pristine garden this week, I was conscious of the lack of bees and butterflies. Bees that are as essential as water in our food production. I consider it my current task to find investments that can support sustainable agriculture.
As a firm, we have invested client money in alternative energy production for the past eight years; for the past two years its been a difficult conversation, as high inflation has meant that the returns were often negative – difficult for those clients who are close to retiring, and not helped by a lack of political clarity.
Investing for good and making a profit for clients is still the driving force of this firm.
We have just celebrated Pat’s 3rd anniversary with the firm.
Her support is providing an excellent service to both the firm and clients.
The next step in her career is to become a qualified adviser, which normally takes 2-3 years to achieve.
In the meantime, her computer skills and ability to develop excellent contacts with providers are invaluable. That is giving me more time to advise.
Jan