Ethical investments

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ok, so basically i have some money which i wish to invest once i become a client of the stock brokers society. While filling out a financial questionnaire, i came across the part of investment restrictions i.e. if there are things i wish not to invest in, then these things would be considered restrictions- these restrictions would often follow along the lines of ethical investments (i.e. say you don't want to invest in something because your ethics are against it).

I certainly don't want to invest in battery farming or similar forms of farming, but other than that, although i hold strong opinions on a lot of stuff, i haven't really pondered much up until now about ethical investments. For now i just need to give them a general idea of my restrictions, however when the meeting is arranged in the near future i should really have a much better/more accurate idea of of my restrictions.
I'm generally looking at low risk investments for now since the whole stocks and shares thing is quite new to me still and i haven't had all the risks of investing in such things explained to me yet, so the chances are my restrictions will probably not effect my investments that much, however IMHO i still need to consider and take into consideration these things (if only so that in the future when the stock market is better and i have more experience in it, that i may invest in medium to high risk things).

I'm wondering what you guys would or would not invest in particular if you had money to invest?
I'm just looking for your idea's/opinions on this kind of stuff for now and your reasoning behind your views/stance of investment, so i can try to take into consideration a wide range of investments of ethical concern before i make my mind up fully on my investment restrictions.
Obviously part of the ethical investments issue, is that some things can be very good to invest in from a profit point of view but not an ethical point of view, and other things which are ethically good to invest in may be not good to invest in from a profits point of view etc.

 

[Pachipro]

Even though I have done, and continue to do "my homework, remember, these are my opinions and my opinions only. What works for one may not work for another.

With the way the UK and US economies are going these days I would stay away from most stocks for a while. At least a year. Commodities are probably a good bet especially ETF's in gold and silver (both of which have reached record highs this week). Silver is predicted to be at least US$35/oz by the end of this year and gold above US$1,000/oz. Gold and silver mines are also a safe investment for at least a year or more, but do your homework and scope them out.

The objective of an ETF is to participate in the economic growth of an industry or sector NOT available to the market in which the ETF is traded.

Anything that will be in high demand during times of recession and that people will need anyway will probably be a safe bet. Large cap stocks may do OK, but I'm a little wary until this thing in the US plays out.

My money is on gold and silver (coins, mining companies, and ETF's) as well as the Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, Austrailian$ and Swiss franc for the present and while the stock markets in the US and Europe are sinking, I'm making money. Also, CD's paying a set interest rate are also safe for a portion of your investment.

Any investments in Asian markets will also probably be safe while the US and the UK tanks as they are the markets of choice today and China and India are expected to rise more that 8% this year while the US economy barly reaches 1%.

Search around on the internet by Googling ETF's, foreign currency, commodities, etc. If there are internet banks/brokerages in the UK that allow you to invest in foreign currency CD's or foreign markets, I would look into those also as Austrailian CD's are currently paying over 5%.

I don't know about the UK or whether you can invest in this or not, but I use the services of EverBank here in the US for my foreign currency accounts and CD's as well as for stocks. There may be something similar in the UK, but it will give you an idea of what is available.

With the simplicity of buying stocks on internet today I would stay away from stock brokers/houses as they have only one thing in mind and that is their commission and what stock their bosses tell them to get rid of. Whether you make or lose money they will always have their commission. With a little homework on your part you can safely invest yourself and save the commissions.

Good luck! This may not have helped you and may have just confused you more, but do your homework. The internet is a wonderful tool for something like this.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Investing my own money without the stock brokers help is certainly something i will definitely consider doing myself in the future when i have more experience and better knowledge on such matters and the economies are doing better, but for now i want to rely on the stock brokers large experience and knowledge on such matters to help me invest wisely in things for now while i am starting out .
My brother did make a lot of money investing in gold bullion online last year, which does make me feel more confident about investing in such things myself in the future .

 

[Pachipro]

Yes, but the broker will NOT have your well being in mind! He will only have his/her commissions in mind! Take heed of that and take the advice from some who has "been there, done that"! I have been burned by brokers befor! No more!

Good for your brother as he has porobably doubled his investment in the past year and will probably raise it by close to 50% within th enext year or two. But be careful. It will not last beyond a year or two.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yes, but the broker will NOT have your well being in mind! He will only have his/her commissions in mind! Take heed of that and take the advice from some who has "been there, done that"! I have been burned by brokers befor! No more!
Good for your brother as he has porobably doubled his investment in the past year and will probably raise it by close to 50% within th enext year or two. But be careful. It will not last beyond a year or two.

Hm...Now i am not so sure about the broker. When i have a meeting with him for the first time soon, i guess the first thing that i need to decide is whether i'm going to get along with the guy. But i'm not so sure now....

I just want to actually do something meaningful with this cash and make good profit out of it, i don't want to just let it sit in a bank account for years on end not doing much.
One of my life's dream's is to create my own wildlife reserve from scratch, i want to buy some poor quality over-farmed old farmland and turn it into a stunning thriving wildlife reserve with its own orchid as well. Its not going to be something run for profit of course, so i'm trying to make and save up as much money as i can so i can achieve this dream but also continue to live a life of relative comfort/one without debts.