Responsible investing

FNF is still touchy about the demise of the cheese shop. But at least it’s not being ousted in favour of a supermarket Local. My Eco Self doesn’t shop there anyway, with a weekly organic vegetable box delivered, and a well thought out shopping strategy which supports local retailers who really care about the provenance of their food. At least not everyday. Food Neurotic Friend does not know about MES’s stock market investments in said supermarket. But My Eco Self had to invest responsibly, to offset the dire performance during the credit crunch of an also-owned ethically invested and branded green unit trust. Responsible investing for My Eco Self’s money is a blue chip supermarket with global plans for expansion. My Eco Self buys their organic and Fair Trade ranges, and aligns my profit-boosting spending with closely-monitored dips in the share price. My Eco Self receives an invitation to their Annual General Meeting, and considers going to ask some difficult ethical questions in their Q&A session for private investors. I wonder if questions would prologue the agenda, reducing the time to get to the most important issue - have their profits gone up and will they pay me a dividend? I need the dividends to fund the whopping difference between shopping for meat in the supermarket and shopping in the local organic shop. To defray a guilty conscience about my greedy corporate mind, I buy an affordable spelt muffin from the local health food shop, independent and not affiliated to anything conglomerate, and take it round to Food Neurotic Friend. “How come you’re being so nice?” he asks. “It’s my eco selflessness,” I reply.