Ethical investing

RG2015

Old_Lifer said:

Being  'ethical'  can  boost the  bottom line,  as an ethical product can often be sold at a higher price.

The only way to boost the bottom line is by increasing profits. It doesn’t sound very ethical to line your pockets by charging the buyer more than they would pay for a less ethical product.

Type_45

RG2015 said:

Old_Lifer said:

Being  'ethical'  can  boost the  bottom line,  as an ethical product can often be sold at a higher price.

The only way to boost the bottom line is by increasing profits. It doesn’t sound very ethical to line your pockets by charging the buyer more than they would pay for a less ethical product.

I dunno... I hear Al Gore very reluctantly became a billionaire off the back of his environmental work. 

thegentleway

I don’t think there is anything intrinsically wrong with making a profit. Quite the opposite, I would say profits are important to make businesses sustainable. 

Type_45

thegentleway said:

I don’t think there is anything intrinsically wrong with making a profit. Quite the opposite, I would say profits are important to make businesses sustainable. 

Sustainable in this context means tax payer subsidized. Ie, crony capitalism.

Old_Lifer

My wife wanted me to get some  fair trade bananas the other day.   I could have bought ordinary bananas at around half the cost. Fair trade and organic produce are sold at  higher prices.  Only part of this is profit.  There is a cost in treating the workforce fairly.

kuratowski

Likewise, free range eggs are slightly more expensive than battery pen eggs.

RG2015

Old_Lifer said:

Being  'ethical'  can  boost the  bottom line,  as an ethical product can often be sold at a higher price.

The problem is the length of time it can take to achieve that level of accreditation.

Being ethical will almost certainly increase costs and prices need to rise to cover these increased costs. Profits, ie the bottom line, may remain the same.

The issue is whether investors, or consumers are willing to pay part of the increased costs by accepting higher prices or lower returns.

This reminds me of charity bosses being pilloried for “excessive” salaries despite their success in raising more funds for their charitable cause.

I previously suggested that earning more by promoting ethical products was not very ethical. Now I see that the real issue is whether the end result is more ethical than it would otherwise have been.

Linton

When you buy a share other than directly from a share offering none of your money goes to the company concerend.  You are merely buying the share from someone else who may or may not have directly invested in the company and selling to someone who certainly hasnt done so.

So not investing in an unethical company makes no difference to the world, though it may make you feel more virtuous.

Thrugelmir

RG2015 said:

Old_Lifer said:

Being  'ethical'  can  boost the  bottom line,  as an ethical product can often be sold at a higher price.

The problem is the length of time it can take to achieve that level of accreditation.

The issue is whether investors, or consumers are willing to pay part of the increased costs by accepting higher prices or lower returns.

As long as people want the biggest piece of the cake for themselves rather than thinking along more equitable lines. Then greed will continue to dominate thinking.  

RG2015

Thrugelmir said:

RG2015 said:

Old_Lifer said:

Being  'ethical'  can  boost the  bottom line,  as an ethical product can often be sold at a higher price.

The problem is the length of time it can take to achieve that level of accreditation.

The issue is whether investors, or consumers are willing to pay part of the increased costs by accepting higher prices or lower returns.

As long as people want the biggest piece of the cake for themselves rather than thinking along more equitable lines. Then greed will continue to dominate thinking.  

Equitable, ethical, altruistic or already have enough financial wealth are all counter balances to greed.

You don’t have to be Bill and Melinda rich to abandon profit maximisation as a driver and embrace altruism or any other non financial goal.