Uninvested, Robert Monks

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slog
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Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:58 am

Uninvested, Robert Monks

Post by slog »

Until just now, I thought the author was new to the scene, but he has been writing on finances with a social responsibility focus for over a decade.
Some of what he talks about is how people in the financial industry profit off a less savvy public. This was nothing new from reading PF blogs and any of the investing books that tout using low fee index funds as the backbone of investing.
What I did find interesting (and logically agreeable) is that investing in any funds where your ownership in the market is complex essentially surrenders your economic influence to the fund managers. The author encouraged taking back control but didn't seem to have a good recommendation for execution. He provided a touchy feely anecdote about (relationship may be mis-remembered) his friend's father that was always invested in a bout 10 companies at a time and was served well by it. I'm still just grappling with jacking up my savings rate and on the investing side am exclusively invested in index funds and tax sheltered retirement funds.

Have those with more assets under management reached a level where they were not just focused on the bottom line? Buying shares in companies that they would like to see succeed and divesting when a company acts in contrast to your values?
To me the market seems so large and jumbled that it is just a space where you play to win. Maybe startups and non-profits chasing the goals you believe in would be where to park your money if you want to flex your capital's influence?

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