What Color Is Your Parachute?

What Color is Your Parachute is a classic book about career planning. Are you familiar with it? I’ve recommended it time and again. An animal lover discovers that her pipe dream of becoming a veterinarian is realistic! A confused and miserable unemployed friend, learns an “animal-centric” career is worth pursuing given her talents, temperament and timeline.

This title resonates with me because its implicit message is positive and free-wheeling, just the right mind-set for the greening of your investment fund. I will offer an array of

strategies, tips and  resources pertaining to divestment and reinvestment. How can you tweak (or perhaps transform) your investments to align with the moral imperative of climate change (and/or the changing energy market-place)?

Some readers are committed to making sure their portfolios are 100% GREEN. Others are uncertain how to handle their fossil fuel investments, or whether to invest in alternative energy stocks/funds. Many are interested in deepening the green of their portfolios while auditing what is lurking within their “brownfields.”

There are many roads to Divestment/Re-investment:

• You’re contributing to your 401K at work – for a short time – for a long time; you’ve been keeping an eye out for green investments; maybe the alternative energy possibilities in your plan are exploding; maybe the pickings in your plan are pathetic; What to do?
• You’ve been dabbling in stocks over a few/many years. You’re interested in what fossil fuel related stocks are hidden in your portfolio and are eager to explore investments in alternative energy. To buy or not to buy?
• You have a gut feeling you belong with a financial advisor who shares your passion for activism re: Climate Change (perhaps other socially responsible issues too): What’s involved in changing advisors?
• You want to remain your with your financial advisor, and want his help unearthing what’s embedded in your funds, making sense of all that research, and designing a clear plan to get greener. How to begin?
• You’ve created a portfolio of indexed funds which you manage on your own – is there more you can do to optimize its performance, turn it greener or do both?
• How can you join the push for divestment/reinvestment of the REALLY BIG FISH, like the New York State Pension Fund?
• What about the banks who fund pipelines, and the companies who manage/own them and what to do if you find your investments are enabling their efforts?

This blog is all about helping you find the right shade of green as you take on the challenges of divestment and re-investment no matter what size or type of portfolio you have.