How my college friends and I turned Beer Night into the TNC – the Thursday Night Consortium (1)

How I lost my morals on the first step (Part 1):

I started this game with the intent of only investing in stocks that would be for the betterment of humanity. That went out the window on my first purchase ($700 for 8 shares of an insurance company, eek). I knew that the company was a safe bet and that they would probably split this year in February. I still felt guilty about abandoning my ideals during step one though.

Three weeks later I finally saved up an additional $500. But, before making a choice I did some serious research. I looked up every “green hedge fund” to see what companies they were interested in. One fund listed Union-Carbine as “an environmentally friendly chemical company.” Holy WTF, Batman! If you don’t know why this is shocking, check out this letter from Bhopal, India to Union-Carbine shareholders. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Email me if you want specific research details, ‘cause it’s pretty boring and I don’t want to your eyes to glaze over just yet.

Finally I opted for 14 shares of a green-friendly natural gas company (okay, getting better). It was a safe choice. I bought them at the lowest point in what appears to be a pretty regular fluctuation of the share price. The dividends covered most of the commission costs and then I sold them at a profit. I currently have a limit order in place as they go into their next trough.

This was pretty small potatoes stuff and it scratched my investment-itch. Better yet, I’ve got 4% return per month on my choices. But I wasn’t proud of what I ha, and what good are my 8 or 14 votes in a company where there are millions of outstanding shares? None.

To be continued…