I feel ashamed that I have stock in Exxon Mobil

[sakabatou]

[rumpel]

1. Don't feel ashamed. You have a voice on whatever they do,

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. No reason to be ashamed about it

I have stock in Walmart, a company I absolutely despise.

And I'm sure, through my S&P indexing mutual funds I have shares in other evil companies. I also owned Lockheed Martin, which I bought after we started bombing Afghanistan.

There's a difference between supporting a company by buying their products, and making a wise decision to invest in companies that will bring a ood return.

As a stockholder, one has votes (however irrelevant they may be in Walmart's case) in the future and policies of the company.

And buying their stock is not a sign of support of the company at all - the company does not get your money that you invest, unless you buy at an IPO.

[sakabatou]

3. Sooo....

its alright to invest in evil companies?

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. It's actually not investing in those companies

those companies will never, ever, ever see any of the money that you pay for their stocks. Unless it's an IPO, it's other people who get the money you pay for the stocks.

And the only way to change the character of those companies is to have avoice in how they run; and the only way to have a voice in how they run is to own part of it.

[norml]

6. Actually, owning shares is supporting a company.

You may look at them as just chips on a table. To me, that's over rationalizing. If you don't control your account, that's fine, but if you do control your account, please sell your shares of the more evil companies. I put my tip money into nanotechnology, with E-Trade. Might be worth something, someday. WMT, and LMT, look like good shorts to me, too many bag holders holding them in their mutual funds.

[norml]

5. So sell, take your profit, and buy something more interesting.

If you control the account, you can do that. If you don't control the account, there's nothing to feel guilty about, because it's not your choice. If you can sell, try buying shares of Evergreen Solar,ESLR, instead. They've got some good patents, and some innovative fabrication methods.

[AndyTiedye]

7. I Donated Some of my XOM Stock to the ACLU Foundation

They obviously need all the help they can get.

I will also be donating some to the Jason Tharp scholarship fund
once they are set up to accept stock donations, since nobody should
be having to join the military just to go to school.
http://braxtonian.com/extra/JasonsTharpsLetters_SundayGazetteMail.html

If you are going to make a donation, and you have stock, like XOM, that
has appreciated, skip the capital gains tax and donate the stock.


(I am not a tax advisor and do not play one on TV, but this is a no-brainer).