Its a tough one. Its a bit riskier because the safest thing is to be broadly diversified. Which is hard the less you have to invest. There at least use to be a microloan thing where they pool peoples money to use to lend to individuals in poor countries to buy things that would allow them to make money. sewing machine, bicycle, whatnot. It had this structure where they used the community to sorta police it (loans would not come to the community if payments were not being made). They charged interest enough to make up for any defaulting or such and still make some profit. Besides that there are a variety of moral funds that have specific rules but what they do is based on the fund. some avoid companies contributing to climate change while others avoid alcohol, cigarettes, or gambling and maybe another avoids weapon manufacturers. The thing is from what I can tell its hard to find one that is not investing in something that would be considered bad to another. You could straight up buy stock in businesses you do not think are to bad.

Dunno about America, but there is a local coop group near me that builds solar farms and let’s members invest. You get a bit of the profits and you’ve helped fund a good thing. The returns aren’t guaranteed, but then again nothing is.

Diversify, find etfs that are exclude investing into specific sectors like defense. Look for those investing into new green technologies etc.

BEHOLD! I have actually somewhat looked into this.

So, for buying stock in publicly traded companies, no, you basically can’t make the world a better place that way. Not because “companies must do what is best for shareholders by law” (iirc, this is more of a guideline than anything). But rather because if all the ethical people invest in Solar Panels and Gender Affirming Care For Everyone Inc, then all the ethically neutral money (which is almost all of it) will simply shift more towards Torture Palistinian Orphans Inc. Because everyone is investing based on value relative to price - so rational investors flee the “overinflated” prices of companies with ethically laudable missions. It’s like trying to lower the level of the ocean by filling up an 5 gallon bucket and dumping it down your toilet. You aren’t making a difference. Other water is just going to fill it up. If you want to invest in stocks, just invest in a broad market, low fee index fund, forget about it for 30 years, and forget about your ethical concerns.

If you want to invest in something that improves the world and makes you money, your best bets are

(1) Small local investments. You’ll have to dig here, but there are probably investors in your area who are getting together to give out small business loans. You are basically angel investors, but instead of funding Uber-But-For-Burritos, you are helping that guy in your neighborhood who is good at fixing things start his appliance repair business.

(2) Investing in yourself and your own business. Like, make a restaurant that gives out free burritos, or a clothing company that donated fancy hats to anti-Trump rallies. Its hard for a business to be really unethical when you’re the one running it

Research “value investing.” A lot of the stock market is pure speculation but it is very possible to invest in businesses who run a “good business”, meaning they’re more concerned about long term sustainability than maximizing their share price right now.

You could look into ESG and SRI funds. There’s no guarantee they will keep their value, but they are relatively easy to liquidate if you need the value converted to cash.

You can sink capital into community infrastructure to use it for good, but you might not be able to liquidate it easily (or at all). It can be still be considered an investment, if you actually to value the good that the infrastructure does more than you value the capital expended. If your value is only “cash value”, then it’s not an investment, but it still might do good.

Good luck finding something. I’m in various ESG funds until I hit “my number” and then I will start directing all the capital I have in excess of “the number” to “good” that’s not under my control, primarily through normal, no-strings-attached donations to local charities in my community.

I left Us stocks nearly a year ago when the smell of decline started (and I will easily resist the upcoming IPO shit shows of the AI bubble). Went into gold and it has been successful for the time being. Decided to invest into tourism next, because the vain in the world won’t cease.

Are there any local financial cooperatives?

At home there’s a cooperative that’s for small scale local farmers and small businesses to be able to get loans. Money invested only makes itself back at the rate of inflation plus a tiny amount.

It helps local small businesses, and is better than having it in a bank :-)

It’s hard to “do good” while also making a profit. But it’s a little easier to not be evil, not support evil, and still be responsible about earning enough to support yourself when you can’t work (now or when you’re old) or have an unexpected need for cash. For instance there are socially responsible stock-market funds that exclude the worst companies, but you’ll want to check for your priorities like climate or worker exploitation because they vary in what they make compromises on.

There are things like microloans you can participate in where you loan very small businesses money to get them off the ground or stay funded for another month and what not.

I don’t believe you make money, so I don’t know if that is considered an investment in that regard, but you are investing in individuals and their communities.

I searched quickly and Kiva looks like it can give you an idea how microloans work. I have no experience with them, I just know this type of program exists.

Alternatively, fund and/or participate in a local charity. I volunteer time and give a humble donation to my local wildlife rescue, but you could also donate or work at your local food pantry, women’s shelter, Food Not Bombs, etc. Again, no money back, but it’s investing in your community and you can see “dividends” from that.

Any investment where you get more money back than when you started has strings attached, so that’s an ethical consideration.

“No,” and “yes,” and “maybe.”

No: Public companies have to maximize profits for their investors–everything else be dammed. That means your investments are not really able to go to a “good cause” if trading publicly.

Yes: Private companies may allow investing in the company if you work for them. If you have a job with one that’s socially conscious you can invest directly in that. Private companies do not need to maximize profits.

Maybe: You could look into microloan platforms. I haven’t checked the efficacy of any in particular, and you won’t make much, but there are some causes that’ll be directly impactful.

Ethically investing? No clue mate

Realistically, if you have a large sum (millions) you can invest in safe blue chip stocks for steady dividend and long term ROI but if you’re looking for short term gains, I would highly recommend you invest your money into your own business or education.

There is no ethical investment.