BlueGreen

08/01/2026

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬
𝐁𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐀. 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐂𝐅𝐀
(𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐱-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠)

Socially and environmentally responsible investing is not a no-brainer activity. Every responsible investor must have – or acquire – at least a minimal knowledge about 1) finance and investment, and 2) distinguishing what companies should and should not qualify as “responsible,” “sustainable” or ESG compliant. In this fourth essay in a series on responsible investing, Gale A. Kirking, who is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has earned the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing, describes the basic knowledge set that a responsible investor needs regarding financial markets, investment instruments, and investing generally. Kirking describes four aspects of portfolio management influencing returns and risks: 1) asset allocation, 2) securities selection, 3) market timing, and 4) pricing ex*****on.
Click on a link below to read this and previous essays in this series on 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 (https://bluergreener.world/an-introduction-to.../) or at 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 (https://galekirking.substack.com/).
In the current essay, Kirking also explains the passive–active continuum of investment management and discusses views on risk, which he calls an aspect of investing “that everybody talks about, many don’t understand very well, and in actual investment practice probably gets less attention than it deserves.” He relates why buying too many losers is more damaging to returns than is missing out on big winners.
Costs and fees take a bite out of investment returns, so every investor should be aware of just what these are and whether they’re justified. Front-end loads of as much as 8.5% are permitted under U.S. law, for example, and mutual funds also are allowed to charge their existing clients fees in order to advertise for new clients. Many investors choose to pay a “wrap fee,” typically of about 1% of assets per year, to get a complete package of advice and portfolio services, but that package may not provide all the advice that a responsible investor wants or needs.
Kirking also describes in this essay four general approaches to putting together an investment portfolio. He terms these “Collective investment on your own,” “Use a fee-based adviser,” “Join or create an investment club or group,” and “Go it alone.” Finally, he suggests how to write a personal investment strategy or policy and provides some “dos and don’ts” for getting started in personal active investing.
To see all this series as it rolls out, subscribe at 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 (https://bluergreener.world/an-introduction-to.../) or at 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 (https://galekirking.substack.com/) or follow one of our social media channels.
https://bluergreener.world/designing-and-building-a-responsible-investment-portfolio-part-a-the-financial-aspects/

In previous essays, I have explained some of the challenges needing to be managed when a person wants to pursue socially and environmentally responsible investing, as well as how the investor can define one’s own views and goals in relation to responsible investing.

18/10/2025

Volunteers have been dirtying their hands for the purpose of land restoration. They lace their boots to walk over landscapes formerly trampled by Bison, trying to keep what little prairie

29/08/2025

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲̇𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱: 𝗔 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲

Paramėlis Island is not an island at all, but it is a great and wild place for rare birds and unobtrusive bird-watchers. I have just reposted this from Channel BlueGreen to my SubStack. It explains how a boardwalk, educational signboards, and an observation tower may contribute to wetlands conservation and promoting biodiversity. The post also includes some stunning photography.

Lying along Lithuania’s border with Belarus is the country’s largest expanse of raised bog wetlands, most of which are within the Čepkeliai Nature Reserve that is completely closed to tourists. Paramėlis Island lies just outside this reserve. Its large meadow needs human assistance for its restoration and continuous care. Because it is not within the Čepkeliai reserve, Paramėlis Island appeals to bird-watchers, some of whom are among the contributors to the Paramėlis Nature Restoration Fund (https://www.paramelis.org/en/). The Restoration Fund has adopted this unique but smallish patch of wetland of great current and potential biodiversity.

Among many other species, the Restoration Fund aims to bring back the Great Snipe, one of Europe’s rarest bird species.

https://galekirking.substack.com/p/katra-river-valley-biodiversity

Can tourism support wetlands restoration, environmental education, forest conservation, and increased biodiversity? Those are the aims on “Paramėlis island”.

09/08/2025

𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

(𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠)

Very often, a would-be conscientious investor cannot describe what exactly he or she does and does not regard as responsible investing. That’s a little problematic, as it leaves one essentially without a solid foundation upon which to begin building an investment portfolio. That this personal ambiguity so often exists should not be too surprising. After all, responsible investing comes in many flavors and even goes by various names. Moreover, every ethically thinking person can – and arguably should – have one’s own views in this area. Particularly if an investor is consulting with an expert financial adviser, however, it is crucial to provide a clear, logical, and complete summary of one’s ethical requirements.

In this third in a series of essays on responsible investing, Gale A. Kirking, who is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has earned the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing, suggests a framework to help an investor know oneself. Click on a link below to read this and Kirking’s first and second essays on 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 (https://lnkd.in/dxm9MhDA) or at 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 (https://lnkd.in/eHkwQbJN).

“Because the range of views on corporate responsibility is so broad,” Kirking writes, “I think the best starting point for an individual is to spell out for yourself what issues are most important to you. In addition to a prohibited or disfavored products and services list, I suggest taking what can be called a ‘stakeholders’ approach. Stakeholders are groups or entities potentially influenced by a company and its activities or that are able to affect such organization.”

Besides suggesting how to define one’s responsible investing preferences, Kirking introduces in this essay how he uses that information in evaluating companies. He describes real examples involving two very different companies: United Natural Foods and Utah Medical Products. Kirking recommends, too, that ethically conscious investors think through and define what are their investment return expectations, their risk preferences, and the flexibility of their ethical demands.

“If some sector or group of stocks has been really hot recently and you’re not invested in it, your investment returns are likely to underperform,” Kirking notes. “Lately, the market’s hot spot has been artificial intelligence, but in future it might be nuclear power, weapons systems, human cloning, surveillance systems, or something else. Ask yourself, will you be willing to sit out those loftier returns? If not, well, that’s up to you to decide, but you might want to think about it ahead of time.”

https://bluergreener.world/what-does-responsible-mean-to-you-first-know-yourself/

Very often, ethically conscientious investors cannot themselves describe unambiguously what they do and do not regard as responsible investments. That, as I wrote in my introduction to this series…

30/07/2025

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘽𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩: 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣 𝘽𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙑𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻. There is no person, living or dead, who has had and continues to have greater influence – for better (mostly) or worse – on the investment industry from the late 1970s until today than John C. Bogle. Bogle, the cantankerous, self-righteous, irrepressible, and outspoken founder of The Vanguard Group and undisputedly the father of index investing, has been dead since 2019, but his importance will long continue.

This series of mini-reviews on my Substack focuses on selected investment books that have most influenced and guided me in my career to date and that I can strongly recommend to others.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 is in about equal measures Bogle biography, Vanguard corporate history, and investment industry critique. Although it is the telling of the Bogle and Vanguard stories that carries the reader through the book, it was for me the critical presentation of the investment and capital markets context and critique that added the most value. In addition to being an excellent writer, the author had learned the investment business context very well and helps the reader to understand the underlying whys and hows.

𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘽𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩: 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣 𝘽𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙑𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙 .....

17/07/2025

𝙁𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮’𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 is one those books I have found most beneficial as an investor and that have most shaped my own views on the investment industry. That’s why I have included it in my series of investment book mini-reviews on my Substack BlueGreen.
This book does the best job of any I have ever seen or read in explaining how the American mutual fund industry came to be, how it has affected the securities markets generally, and how it has largely avoided meaningful regulation to this very day. The author, Diana B. Henriques, demonstrates why every active investor needs to understand the role and influence that the mutual fund industry plays in those markets even if he or she does not personally invest in mutual funds.
By the way, my next mini-review will discuss the work and ideas of one man who did more than any other to shape – partly for better and perhaps partly for worse – the investments industry and capital markets in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. So that you don’t miss that, please consider subscribing to my Substack, BlueGreen.

Investment book, a mini-review: Fidelity’s World: The Secret Life and Public Power of the Mutual Fund Giant The United States securities market is the largest in the world and, perhaps, at times, arguably, one of the best regulated. From an investor’s viewpoint, that market’s development and r...