There are many different types of socially conscious investing, but a particularly effective method is proxy voting, where shareholders instigate change from within. Individual investors have the power to influence the way a company or a fund does business. And foundations, especially, can leverage their influence to ensure that the companies and funds they invest in work toward goals that are in line with guiding principles. All investors can become better informed as to what proposals are out there when you read the Proxy Season Preview 2008, the fourth annual effort from As You Sow and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
The End of Socially Responsible Investing? Written By: Michelle Haimoff 2008-10-01 17:34:53 Whenever I get into a conversation about socially responsible investing, the other person usually says, "Do people really care about socially responsible stocks? Don’t people just care about making money?"
Vikram Pandit Makes Rock Star Status Written By: David Neubert 2007-12-12 15:50:58 Together with Madonna, Sting and Prince, Vikram Pandit, my old boss at Morgan Stanley, has acheived rock star status. He's the only CEO I know of in the world who is referred to only by his first name.
I've been seeing a lot on CNBC and other media dissing the Citigroup Board for choosing Vikram Pandit as its (C - $31.53) CEO. I used to work quite closely with Vikram at Morgan Stanley and I found him to be a thoughtful, insightful, extremely level-headed and intelligent manager. He's one of the few managers I ever had who would understand every screw-ball idea I would throw at him. And believe me, I would dream up a lot of crazy derivative products.
He has a conservative management style and considers every angle of a decision before moving forward. I could almost see him going through his checklist on every decision, Profit Potential, Legal, Employee Morale, Reputation Risk, Credit Risk, Shareholders, Credit Rating, Sovereign Risk. I can see him thinking the same way going forward at Citigroup. Virkam was head of the Equity Division as we openned our Brazil office. He aksed good questions, but unlike several other divisions at Morgan Stanley, was not so risk averse that we walked away from the potential.
So, I'm hanging on to my Citigroup. If you've been watching my Citigroup stock purchases you know that I'm underwater on the position. But I think the market's harsh treatment of Vikram right now is a symptom of a "beat up Citigroup" crowd mentality.
