Negative Screening

Negative Screening means to identify, rule out and exclude companies that violate your personal values. At Money Wisdom we won't tell you what your values should be. That's up to you. Ultimately you decide for yourself what companies you will not invest in as a matter of conscience. Still, we can help you make these decisions by providing information on common stock screens because the chances are, your basic values -- your ideas of right and wrong -- are not too different from everyone else's. Most people try and avoid companies that:

• Cause Illness, Disease & Death.
• Destroy or Damage the Environment.
• Violate Human Rights and Fair Employment Practices.
• Engage in Unfair and Deceptive Business Practices.

Sometimes the application of your values is an easy black and white call, but more frequently its a shade of grey. Go here for some Money Wisdom examples of negative screening, and the slippery slopes you can run into. This whole area is filled with bs and companies making false claims, posing to be "ethical" when they know they are not. The only way to be sure is to do your own in-depth research before you buy.

The fourfold Money Wisdom method requires that negative screening be performed before any final investment decison is made. Check out a company you are interested in and be sure that its activities don't violate your core values. If it does, pass it over, and consider another. That's a key to "peace of mind investing." The Research Tools we provide can help you locate general information about a company. In addition, the information resources presented here are specific to the Negative Screening step. They are designed to help you recognize companies that should be screened out of your portfolio (note - all of these links may not be up to date):

1. Domini 400 Mutual Fund: A-L and M-Z. This is the best established list of the top 400 ethical companies in America. It is a red flag if your company is not on their list.
   
2. Corporate Report Card database of 320 companies that are rated on issues such as Environment, Diversity, Charitable Giving, Working Conditions, Family Benefits, and Community Outreach by the highly regarded Council on Economic Priorities.
   
3. Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the 90s This lists the coporations who were convicted of crimes and received the largest fines in the 1990s. Many of them are well known. Sadly, there are many more not on this list that are convicted criminals. Yes, corporations, like people, can be convicted of crimes. You can't send a legal entity like a corporation to jail, but you can fine them. This web lists the crimes, and the amount of fines. Do you want your money invested in a criminal?
   
4. List of Firms Alleged to have Unethical Practices This contains a list of webs by people who believe a company, or companies, are unethical for one reason or another. Not dispositive, but good food for thought. You certainly want to think twice before investing in a listed company.
   
5. Another List of Companies Alleged to be Unethical This is a collection of articles from all over the web.
   
6. List from Netscape of Allegedly Unethical Firms More of the same.
   
7. Hot Bot's Unethical List Getting redundant!
   
8. 20 Top Carbon Producers The main fossil fuel producers contributing to Global Warming as compiled by the National Resources Defense Council.
   
9. Hall of Shame List of companies singled out by the non-profit corporate accountability group INFACT.
   
10. Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice prosecutes "serious and willful violations" of anti-trust laws. Here you will find a complete list of the cases filed since 1994, and even a search tool of all their on-line information.
    
11. Companies Defending Class Actions for Securities Violations Summaries of cases by names of companies sued for such things as insider trading and fraudulent reporting. This doesn't necessarily mean they are guilty, just that some people think they are.
    
12. The United States' Biggest Defense Firms as compiled by the Federation of American Scientists. Good to know if you don't want your money in weapons.
    
13. Top 100 Companies receiving the largest dollar volume of defense contracts as of 1998 according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
    
14. List of Companies in the Aerospace and Defense Industry From the Yahoo industry list. Note this is not just defense companies.
    
15. Stinky Stocks Gallery Stocks to avoid for one reason or another from the Stock Detective.
    
16. List of Companies in the Tobacco Industry From the Yahoo industry list.
    
17. List of Companies in the Alcholic Beverage Industry From Yahoo list.
    
18. List of Companies in the Casino and Gaming Industry Again Yahoo.
    
19. Corporations and Human Rights Information from Human Rights Watch on corporate complicity in rights violations.
    
20. Company Sweatshop List Alphabetical listing of 56 major corporations providing analysis, good and bad, of the corporation's performance on this issue by the non-profit Investor Responsibility Research Center.
    
21. Corporate Accountability by the non-profit Global Exchange organization. Provides info on foreign Sweatshops, with special information on The Gap, Inc. (GPS), Nike, Inc. (NKE), and even the beloved Walt Disney Company (DIS).
22. Violations of Worker's Rights More information by the National Labor Committee on the deplorable condition of factory workers in various third world countries and the U.S. corporations behind them.
    
23. As You Sow Foundation Targets shareholder activism to try and effect changes in a number of well known companies for a variety of offenses, including Walt Disney (DIS), Home Depot (HD), Maxxam (MXM), Wal-Mart (WMT), and Nike (NKE).
24. Multinational Monitor a publication that features all things bad about multi-national corporations worldwide. It has an anti-business slant.
    
25. Corporate Watch Another research group with an attitude, with information to help you, as it puts it, "dig up dirt on Trans-National Corporations."
    
26. Ralph Nader Web Pages A good source for information on companies to avoid, but it takes some digging, and it helps to like Ralph.
    
27. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals identifies many companies they find particularly offensive.
    
28. Cruelty Free Investment News contains just what you would expect.