Green Investing.

by Natalie Pace..

Learn how to profit on the companies you love most.

Want a cleaner, greener world? One way is to live green. Another is to invest in clean energy companies and divest yourself of old school oil, gas and dirty energy in your 401k, IRA, annuity, pension, trust and any other "retirement" plan you own.

Here's how.

Learn more about just how easy it is to Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is and profit from sustainable living and investing below.

1. Know What You Own - If you don't know the companies that are held in the "funds" in your retirement accounts, chances are very high that you own oil, gas and old, dirty energy companies. What a lot of conscious creatives don't know is that many "socially conscious" fund companies invest in oil, gas and old, dirty energy companies, too. Apple is now the most valuable company in the world and paying dividends (Exxon Mobil is #2). So, you can go greener/cleaner and still have the benefit of owning large companies that are more stable and provide some yield.

Most financial websites allow you to see the holdings of the funds you own. All you need to know is the name of the fund and the ticker symbol, which can be found on your brokerage statement.

2. Profit on Good Products - Over the past three years, investors of Whole Foods have earned 450% more than investors of legacy grocery companies.

Performance of Whole Foods vs. Safeway
March 20, 2009-March 20, 2012



Source: Money.MSN.com (for illustration purposes only)

Google investors are far richer than owners of British Petroleum.

Performance of Google vs. BP
March 20, 2009-March 20, 2012



Source: Money.MSN.com (for illustration purposes only)

Yes, I'm as happy as anyone that I don't have to ride my horse from L.A. to New York. But, I'm going to be even happier when I can fly in a solar-powered plane. So, while we're dreaming of a better world and co-creating our future, I am profiting on organic food and the democratization of the Internet, instead of canned food and gasoline. A win-win.

3. Great Gains While You Sleep - There is a risk to investing in emerging markets of any kind. NASDAQ was the best investment in the late 1990s and the worst in the Dot Com Recession of 2000-2002. Clean energy scored almost 60% gains in 2007 and was the worst performing industry of 2011. That is why Modern Portfolio Theory is a great strategy for your nest egg. (I add in a few other tricks, like avoiding the Bailouts, adding in Hot Industries and 1-3 times a year rebalancing as well.) To reduce risk in your nest egg, avoid investing in individual companies, and choose funds instead. Keep your industry exposure to a reasonable percentage. Below are two pie charts illustrating what a reasonable clean energy exposure might be for a 25-year-old versus a 50-year-old investor.




4. Co-Create a Cleaner, Greener World - A lot of people, particularly the "conscious creative" community, are living green and buying green. Many are promoting bike-friendly, green city policies, choosing more fuel-efficient cars, eating organic, recycling and far more. However, the next evolution of green advocacy is to align your investing dollars with your spending dollars. Should you buy an electric car, but own stock in gas guzzlers? Or purchase organic food, but profit on pesticide companies? Older, more established companies make it easy for you to invest in their stock. It takes information, wisdom and commitment to align your 401k, pension, annuity, IRA, health savings account, etc. with your vision of a new world. But if you don't, you're just funding the Bailouts, the Banksters and cronyism economics. So, make 2012 your year to get money smart and put your advocacy efforts where they can force the most change. Make sure that all your investments are in a cleaner, greener world -- from the money you "spend" on products and services, to the money you "invest" in the companies that make them.

Join me for a special Natalie Pace BlogTalkRadio.com show on green investing on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. PT (noon ET) to learn more and get your questions answered. Call-in number is (347) 215-7305.

About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace is the author of You Vs. Wall Street and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is. She is the founder and CEO of the Women’s Investment Network, LLC (a global financial news, information and education site), where she has been adding a splash of green to Wall Street and transforming lives on Main Street for more than a decade. She is a blogger on HuffingtonPost.com and a repeat guest on national television and radio shows such as Good Morning America, Fox News, CNBC, ABC-TV, Forbes.com, NPR and more. As a strong believer in giving back, she has been instrumental in raising tens of millions for public schools, financial literacy, the arts and underserved women and girls worldwide. Follow her on Facebook.com/NWPace. For more information please visit NataliePace.com.

Please note: NataliePace.com does not act or operate like a broker. We report on financial news, and are one of the most trusted independently owned and operated financial news corporations in North America. This article is intended to educate and inform individual investors, and, thus, to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. The publicly traded companies mentioned in this article are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations.

ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies.   Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a long, safe strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience.  

Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable however NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.