Stocks, Sanctions & Sustainable Investing 🆘


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Stocks, Sanctions & Sustainable Investing

I don’t need to remind you of the current war in Europe if you are not watching the tanks in Ukraine, you might be seeing Ukrainians leaving their country in hast or trying to get some sleep in metro stations or parking lots underground.

Today is the 1st of March 2022 but I urge you not to go back to normal – please keep that uncomfortable feeling with you, it is there to motivate you to take some kind of action. Let’s face it – if Putin isn’t stopped in Ukraine, he won’t stop at all. We might not be first in line right now – but many of us were not first in line during WWII until we were, and it was too late. Let’s put in an effort now to stop this – to avoid years of war in Europe. Let's take small actions together - I have made you a list that all sustainable investors should follow.

Divest. Protest. Donate.

Best regards,

Eva,

CEO at Sustainify

DIVEST

If you are a retail investor (private person who invest in the stock market) you probably thought about what the economic sanctions will mean to you.

First of all – remember to act calmly and never on emotions and impulses, those who do worst in the stock market are those who are emotional and impulsive. So do your best to stay rational and in control – nothing wrong with emotions but analyze and process them before you trade. Here is what you can start looking at.

Do you have investments in Russian companies? Check your portfolio – start with the energy sector. If you sell with a loss remember it’s your price to pay to stop Putin’s war. Rather have a financial loss than going to sleep in a metro station. If you have ETFs check them, if you don’t have the time or resources to check what they consist of ask the ETF provider/fund manager (bank) to tell you if any are in Russian companies and how they plan on following the economic sanctions. If you are not pleased with their answer or you suspect they will accept smaller exposures to Russian stocks sell and look for something else.

Also check if you have any Russian bonds. If you use an asset manager/fund manager/ bank ask them today if they are following sanctions and how they will proceed, if they are hesitant or give you a date in the future – follow up on them or find someone else who takes it as seriously as they should.

If you think, but I’m not a retail investor you might be an investor through your pension fund - please get in contact with them, to make sure they follow the sanctions. Don’t settle for them telling you to accept a small Russian exposure – put pressure on them to be 100% Russian-free. I ask you to be a bit annoying and write on a daily basis until they change. This might seem inconvenient for you and a bit uncomfortable – but this is the least we can do and one of the ways to show we stand with Ukraine.

PROTEST

Lastly, I have seen the Ukrainian government say they need us (the EU) to make them a member of the EU – even just a candidate to be a member – and therefore I urge you to write to your national government to accept Ukraine as a member now.

This will show that we mean it when we say we stand with Ukraine and is a small action for us to take in order to stop Putin. Spend 20 - 30 min. to find the right e-mail address and write your government today and repeat tomorrow.

TO-DO-LIST

Some of the things we can do right now are

1) Disconnect to any Russian ties in your investments and in business and do it today. If you use an asset manager/fund manager, put pressure on him/her to divest in anything Russian and do it right now. Follow up.

2) Write you pension fund right now to divest as well and ask if it’s 100% Russian-free. Do not accept anything less. Follow up.

3) Demonstrate in front of official Russian institutions – I did Sunday here in Copenhagen in front of the Russian embassy to show that this is not acceptable. We need to show up in large numbers and keep doing it – if we don’t, Putin will not stop.

4) You can help the refugees from Ukraine by donating money to organizations like the Red Cross or others, that already have experience in aiding in war zones. Be careful of fraud – I recommend to use well known organizations but if you don’t just check if it looks legit, maybe ask around.

Divest. Protest. Donate.