Conflicted Feelings About Investing (Why I Do It Anyways)
Twice a month, I buy some broad market ETFs and let them grow in a retirement account. Just about every financial expert will tell you it's one of the best ways to build wealth (we hope!)
As somebody who is self-employed, and getting a late start in saving for retirement, I'm pretty proud of how I'm growing my basket.
But I'm also conflicted. I wish there was another way to do this other than buying companies I'd rather not have anything to do with. Sure, there are ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ETF's to assuage guilt and soothe the conscience, but these are not really "better."
So I find myself in a place of wanting to give myself the best possible chance at being financially secure (or at least stable) in retirement, without relying on any one means to do so (ie: Social Security, or the sale of my current business should it still be going strong when I reach retirement age.)
I've read all of the reasons one should invest anyways and not worry about “little things like personal values,” and why the ESG ETFs are complete and total BS.
I hate to be fatalistic, throw up my arms, and just go with the flow of capitalism. But until there is a fundamentally better way (like our government actually working FOR its citizens), we are left to fend for ourselves. Investing in a basket of top US (and international) companies has been a very good bet with over 100 years of historical data supporting it.
I don't know where I'm going with this. It's just something I wrestle with. I know I'm not alone in this. I feel like I walk between two worlds, two desires, two worldviews - as an entrepreneur entrenched in capitalism, while longing for systems that prioritize people and sustainability over profits.