Are you worried about our world and how it is changing? Do you want to do your part to ensure that you don’t personally have a negative effect either socially or ethically? If this is the case, you may wish to consider investing in a manner that ensures you leave a positive footprint. Those who invest using traditional methods look at how they gain financially. Those who invest in a socially responsible manner choose companies who are making a positive change as they feel they can do the same indirectly. If a company trades in areas they are opposed to morally, they do not invest there.

Exclusionary Investing is one type that someone who wants to make a positive change should consider. If you have concerns or are opposed to a company’s business philosophy, don’t spend your money there. Many areas may be unworthy of your money in your perspective. This will differ from person to person, but may involve cigarettes, guns or adult products. Unfair business practices may also be a factor when you are deciding who to invest with. The goal behind this is to stop funding these companies in the hopes they will change or go out of business.

In contrast to exclusionary investing is activist investing. With this type of approach, the investor specifically looks for companies that share their general philosophy either politically or morally. By investing money, the hope is that these companies will increase in power and continue doing good things in the eyes of the investor. Another method of activist investing involves one or more investors purchasing stocks in a company they are opposed to in order to make changes through their votes. Working from the inside may bring about more change if enough participate in this type of investing.

In order to choose companies appropriate for responsible investing, an investor will need to do a thorough review of potential firms. A size should be considered along with company policies. Each potential investment may require a different tactic and this needs to be known beforehand. A good example of this would be becoming an activist investor in a small corporation. In contrast, some choose community investing which involves giving a group money to invest. This is different from a charitable donation as the group promises to give you a set interest payment after a certain period of time. Some feel this is ineffective as it takes to long and many investors look at financial gain rather than a company’s impact. Only you can decide if this investment strategy is right for you.