Eco-economics: The Future of Investing

Hi, I am Sowmy VJ, author of the Eco-economics series of books. You can find me on LinkedIn.

I like to get to know you better. Mind filling this little form? It could take you upto 5 minutes, but we maintain profiles, on over 90% of our subscribers, and many of them, have been with us, for over 2 years.

I found that many companies had environmental, and/or social goals or targets for 2050 or beyond. Yet, their progress and track record was not in that direction.

However, they were attracting investor attention, and money was flowing in, like crazy. Like £30 Trillion crazy, when I last checked.

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I have invested in stocks, since 1999, and there are a few principles I have followed:

1. No IPOs. I look for a minimum 5 year listing history before I invest.

2. I am not carried away by hype. I look for solid fundmantals and a fair valuation.

3. I compare with the market, and with the peers.

4. I look for a wide moat (competitive advantage).

5. I prefer low debt (that’s my way of looking at things).

6. I invest for the long term (my definition is, at least 5 years), and I am Ok, with some price corrections in the short term.

7. I review the performance, every month, but I might cut losses, sooner. Best Loser Wins, as they say.

So, for me, this idea, of buying stocks, which will deliver returns in 2050, didn’t sit right. I’ve invested based on the earnings, and returns that were delivered, a track record of doing so, and the capability to do so, in the long term.

What if there are companies that are already sustainable? I found 100+ such companies, as part of my research.

More importantly, I don’t agree with the following ideas:

• A sustainable or ‘eco’ or ‘green’ product is labeled as a premium version, and is priced highly. I think it should be the base model.

• A sustainable business isn’t profitable. That is not logical, yet it attracts investment.

• A business will take 20-30 years to be sustainable. No, there are competitive forces at play, and I don’t think a company that hasn’t existed for 30 years now, needs 30 more years to become sustainable.

My goal is ‘sustainable now, profitable now’. More importantly, I place a higher emphasis on having a track record of being sustainable and profitable.

That’s the essence of the Eco-economics, series of books, available here. You can get a ebook or paperback copy from any reputable bookstore globally. My books are available with most libraries (some ebook, some paperback, some have both) as well as university economics departments, and some sixth forms.

Every week, I share :

1. Intermediate financial knowledge - like how I interpret the price of a stock in relation to its sales, earnings, free cash flow, how I made a decision on a loan, how I decided whether I got value for money from a product (could be a non-financial product, but you pay £ for it, have a warranty, a right to repair etc.), or how I decided on a service/ utility.

2. A stock that I am considering to invest in. Why I am considering, what price I want to enter, and whether I want to take a long (buy the stock, expect the price to go high), or short (sell it and buy when it goes low).

3. A concept from my books, and research.

4. I read quite a lot, and I share many news, and publications in our chat.

5. How the market is behaving, and what I am doing about it.

6. I get asked to share job opportunities, by a number of colleagues (yes, many of you as well!). I post them on the chat.

To be clear, this is not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. This is not financial advice.

I write about the stocks that I invest in. I run a fund that has invested in 60 such stocks. Feel free to suggest other stocks that you come across.

We also run an investor club, that invests in private companies. So feel free to suggest to us.

In order to keep this fair, all knowledge posts are ‘free’. All paid posts will have a free summary, but the strategy and thesis deep dive is for paid subscribers, and club members.

I’d highly appreciate your paid subscription, if you can afford it.

If not, I fully understand that times are tough, and if I can help you gain market knowledge that enriches you, I am happy about that.

A paid subscription can give you:

1. Intermediate financial knowledge - my reasoning and the resources I used.

2. Stocks - what made me decide on a particular strategy, and price, direction.

3. Market Briefs - why I am taking a certain path, and resources I used to arrive at a decision.

Investor Club Members get:

1. Exclusive access to events.

2. Research briefings

3. Private investment opportunities.

The stocks we research, are also available as signals, which you can use.

If you want it done for you, you can invest in our fund, directly by clicking here.