ARTICLES
An Ethical Stance in Financial Chaos
Given the spate of news coverage of the current economic turbulence affecting markets across the world from London to Iceland to Tokyo and back again, this might seem like a bizarre time to think about investing money in an internationally-backed bank. Then again, the same reasoning could tell you that this has never been a better time to invest: with the majority of customers scared of putting their money near funds managers and investors, you could end up with some quick-fire returns as well as very low premiums to begin with.
What it takes is a little confidence and a good amount of research. Whilst effectively you are giving the bank your money to do your research for you, and invest where appropriate, it never hurts to know what financier’s and companies are worth doing business with. Whether you want a quick return or a long-term insurance that you will be able to provide for yourself and your loved ones many years down the line, perhaps an ISA is a good idea for you.
ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. Introduced by the government to encourage saving amongst UK citizens, the benefit of the ISA is that it allows you to sidestep the huge costs incurred by various taxes which usually diminish our income, travel and living standards. All the proceeds which emanate from the investments made via ISA are exempt from deductions by income or capital gains tax: and for this reason they could save you a lot of money even whilst earning you money.
If you are still a little tentative, why not see for yourself? There is plenty of information online: rather than go through the official government website and its justifications for encouraging these investments, it might serve better to go through the websites of the providers themselves. This way you can learn about what the accounts are as well as surveying what kind of offers are available. A provider like Legal and General, which is one of the first companies to offer what has been far too long in coming, the Ethical ISA, which ensures that the companies invested in as part of your account all answer to certain codes of trade and practice. This means that you won’t be funding civil wars, arms dealers and drugs cartels without your knowledge.
