At what point do my investment decisions affect others?

Question

Investing in companies that I know are doing harm to people and the environment, as well as business competition has been very profitable in the last few years. I have large sums of money in these companies and their projects.At what point am I responsible for their bad or unethical decisions and effects?

Answer 1

You are to some degree responsible for the actions of your company whenever you become an owner.  If you are an owner than you express your proportional responsibility by voting for the Board of Directors and by proposing and voting for/against shareholder resolutions.

Contrary to a prior comment, the stock market is not a zero sum game because it produces (in the aggregate) positive cash flow from the collective earnings of the companies.

Be aware that society doesn't turn an entirely blind eye to the negative effects and externalities of certain businesses.  A wise government imposes certain regulations and charges taxes, fees and penalties to compensate for the harm that a business might do.    

Answer 2

Individual investors are a 'p**s hole in the snow'. You can own thousands of shares and never show up on the investment radar screen. Invest to make money. Your investments will never change anything or effect anyone except yourself.

Answer 3

if you don't like money, don't invest in things that hurt people.

i, however, am hoping that kids start smoking at age 2, start buying guns by kindergarten, and turn into problem drinkers by middle school.  so far, my wishes seem to be coming true.

if you're that conflicted about it, though, just donate your dividends to anti-smoking, anti-gun, anti-drinking charities.  think of it as a portable alpha approach to socially responsible investing.

Answer 4

The moment you bought shares!! Take some responsibility

Answer 5

How naive of you!

You don't have any money in these companies at all.

If you own stock in them and didn't buy them through a stock option program, you only own stock, not the company. Only closely held companies, and sole proprietorship, do you own the company.

All you did is bought the stock someone already owned.

Your vote doesn't mean squat unless you have a controlling interest in the companies.

So if you want to be "Politically Correct" and sell your stock ,the only person you will be helping or hurting is YOU!

Answer 6

BIG G is wrong. If you are able to invest in the company, it is public. And buying into a public company makes you an investor in that company (shareholder and vote holder).

Your investment neither helps nor hurts the company and doesn't change their business practice. Investing is a "zero-sum" game. If you make/lose money, it is at the expense of another investor and not that company.

The point at which your decisions affect others is when you become a minority/majority shareholder. This is only after you own a significant percentage of the stock and would hold a ton of voting rights. Then, at that point, you can vote for/against certain issues of the company and could press for them to change their practices. But note, this would likely cost hundreds of millions for larger companies or tens of millions for smaller companies. Until your investments reach that level, you are NOT responsible for anything because you can't affect any business outcome.