Putting your money where your mouth is

by Martha Heinemann Bixby · 2009-06-30 19:38:00 UTC
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When I got home from work today I opened up my mail to find a proxy ballot from Fidelity, where I have some retirement funds invested.

Instead of telling me the usual dismal news about the state of my investments, the Fidelity Board of Trustees had a question for me.  Well, rather, a suggestion.

After encouraging me to vote for all of them, they recommend, IN LARGE BLOCK LETTERS, that I vote AGAINST a shareholder proposal

concerning procedures to prevent holding investments in companies that, in the judgment of the Board, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.

I knew this was coming.  But there's something very different about hearing directly from the people with whom you've entrusted your money that they would rather make some more cash (for themselves; from the look of my recent statements it won't be coming my way) than avoid investing in companies that they themselves would decide are substantially contributing to genocide.

I can only hope that my fellow shareholders can get past the huge block of text and the authoritative "suggestion" and vote FOR this shareholder proposal (yeah, I can use all caps and underlines too).  If you're a Fidelity shareholder please vote before July 15.

As Investors Against Genocide notes in their helpful guides to the Fidelity and Vanguard votes:

"Ethical investing" may mean different things to different people, but few people want their hard-earned savings to be invested in companies that help to fund genocide.

I know I sure don't.

Earlier today, the New York State Comptroller agreed, announcing that the New York State Common Retirement Fund

is divesting its portfolio of all investments in a set of companies operating in Sudan with another set now being monitored.  The move has been made in conjunction with the Conflict Risk Network, Genocide Intervention Network's project to mitigate risk to investors in companies engaged in conflict zones.

Check out Investors Against Genocide and the Conflict Risk Network to learn more about how to keep your money where your mouth is.

Photo: my proxy ballot from Fidelity.

Martha Heinemann Bixby
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