Compounding Snowballs

In search for more information on SRI (socially responsible investing), I interviewed Alyce Lomax . Alyce Lomax has been in the financial news and information industry for about 25 years; she has spent nearly 15 of those years at The Motley Fool, where she is currently an analyst and writer focused on sustainable investing in all its forms. 1) What does SRI mean to you? What does ESG mean to you? SRI involves screening out certain stocks and industries on ethical grounds. To my way of thinking, ESG integration involves including environmental, social, and governance attributes in investing theses, whether it's to uncover enhanced opportunities along those lines (for example, an excellent culture adding up to a competitive advantage, or sustainable products that result in greater sales or illustrate major innovation), or to assess risks (such as lawsuits, regulatory risks, and so forth). I feel that when I'm investing, I use a hybrid approach -- there are some industries ...

I used to think that the hardest thing about investing was the battle between my personal values and making a profit. As investors, we all want to make money and sometimes we think that our values have to become an afterthought of that. Looking at the dictionary definition of the verb, invest, it means “ to commit (money) in order to earn a financial return .” That is what most investors go for. I believe it is so much more than just ‘making money’. To me, investing, as Merriam Webster uses in their second definition, is “ to involve or engage especially emotionally. ” Investing is not solely about making money, it is about investing in your values and the future. This is called Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). SRI backs up your values and personal beliefs with purchases and investments. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) are three categories that a lot of people use to judge the social responsibility of a company. One approach is to categories to create guide...

Recently, I interviewed Todd Wenning on the competitive advantage. Todd Wenning, CFA is an equity analyst at Johnson Investment Counsel. Before joining Johnson in 2015, Todd was an equity analyst at Morningstar and ran a dividend-focused newsletter for The Motley Fool UK. He is the author of Keeping Your Dividend Edge (2016) and his articles have been published by Morningstar, Investors Chronicle, CFA Institute, and The Motley Fool. He also has blog Clear Eyes Investing . Todd's opinions here are his own and not necessarily those of his employer. What does competitive advantage mean to you? How do you describe a moat (in general)? There are two types of competitive advantages - temporary and durable. A company that sells a "fad" product, for example, might generate high profit margins and returns for a time, but eventually, competition enters, and the trend ends. Fidgit spinners are a case in point. Instead, what I'm looking for as an investor are durable adva...

Surprise, surprise! This summer I’m working on a book for teenagers to learn how to invest! I am trying to learn as much as I can from teens about their knowledge of investing. So, I recently did a survey. It consisted of five different questions. There was a range of answers, some had very little knowledge to the other end of the spectrum of teens who already invest. I want to share the anonymous answers of each question. I hope you enjoy and learn as much as I did about educating teens. Within the first few minutes of surveying, I could get a sense of the overarching responses. Teenagers are closed off in general, but what really surprised me is how they acted when the term “investing” and “money” was brought into play. That is expected, money is a valued and personal subject and everyone quiets when it is brought up. What surprised me is teens shut down more than adults. Many of the teenagers would apologize for their lack of knowledge on the subject and they said maybe they ar...