The Cheddar Path | A blog about economics, politics and personal finance

Books on Investing

I’ve set a personal goal for myself to start setting aside money specifically for opening a Roth IRA retirement account to invest in socially responsible companies. Contrary to what you may hear from Wall Street, I think it’s possible to invest in companies that are practicing solid environmental, labor and human rights policies and also make money for yourself. The rest of the world seems to be catching on to this as well, as the socially responsible investing, or SRI, market is booming. Predictions point to the SRI market in the US reaching $3 trillion by 2011.

However, I’ve realized that to make the best decisions, I have to step my game up and educate myself about investing. Here’s some dope books that I recommend:


The First Book of Investing: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Building Wealth Safely
, by Samuel Case

A good beginner’s guide for people with no prior knowledge so you can learn what the hell terms like mutual fund, closed end fund, stock, preferred stock, bonds, notes, futures and options mean.


The SRI Advantage: Why Socially Responsible Investing Has Outperformed Annually, by Peter Camejo

The late great Peter Camejo and his homies use a lot of evidence and data to make the case for not only why SRI is more ethical, but why it actually beats the competition and is going to make you more money in the long term.


Investing with your Values: Making Money and Making a Difference, by Hal Brill; Cliff Feigenbaum; Jack A. Brill

A good companion to SRI Advantage that goes in depth about the different SRI strategies and activities out there like social screening, shareholder activism and community investing.

I know a lot of you are probably thinking that reading books about investing is right next to pulling teeth on your list of things you want to do. On the other hand, like it or not, we all have to face investment decisions at some time or another. Our education system has failed to provide education on investing for the public good, so why not take a few nights out the week to get up on this stuff? It just might make a difference in the world, and make you a little richer.

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