My name is Mark Brandon, and I am the founder of First Sustainable, a socially responsible investment adviser, and the author of the Sustainable Log newsletter and blog. Founded in 2005, First Sustainable advises individuals and institutions on how to invest their money in a manner that makes sense from a financial standpoint while not conflicting with their social values. Social criteria might be Green values, political values, religious values, or focus on human rights, gay rights, labor rights, animal rights, board diversity, or corporate governance.
My other financial services experience includes stints with Fidelity Investments, Piper Jaffray, and Instinet. In the late 1990's, I led Daylight Online Brokerage, an internet broker and clearing agent for active institutional investors, until its acquisition in 1999.
I acquired an MS in Science and Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in History from the same institution. I hold a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) and Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) designation.
Like many other entrepreneurs, I always have multiple irons in the fire. Besides First Sustainable, I do commercialization consulting with a University of Texas think tank, and head up the Collaborative Law Network, which promotes peacemaking through the practice of Collaborative Family Law. I also create link building tools for search optimization. You may have seen my "Headlines" super-widgets, which aggregate content from various blogospheres, such as the Green, Progressive, Peak Oil, Clean Tech, Impeach Bush, and Feminist communities.
I reside in Austin, TX with my wife, Renee, and 3 year old daughter, Sophia. We are currently expecting another child, due in May 2007.
Texas AG Greg Abbot: he may be wrong, but he may be right.In a rush to push through well-intentioned and headline-grabbing divestment legislation targeting the multinationals that aid the genocidal regime in Sudan, politicians may be doing more damage to the movement than good. Evidence of this backlash surfaced last week. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a statement that requiring divestment on [...]
Don't Be The SuckerAmid all of the truly groundbreaking new technologies, innovative companies, and fresh-minded thinking surrounding renewable energy, organic agriculture, distributed generation, and other green memes lurk ugly, but familiar beasts — the penny stock operator and the private placement promoters. With a penchant for press releases and the skillful use of all the appropriate buzz words, these charlatans are not only making off with some ill-gotten booty from [...]
Green Giants: Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia; recycling computer parts at H-PThe current issue of Fortune is a treasure trove of stories of companies that got the green religion. Some did it from the standpoint of a moral imperative. Others did it for the other type of green — money. The cover issue is about the so-called "coolest company" on earth, [...]
Skeptics abound about the whole concept of socially responsible investing. Some of them have merit. Others are just plain silly. Statement: SRI does not perform as well as traditional investingStatus: Mostly FalseExplanation: As more people become of aware of investing responsibly, a lot of naysayers point out that social portfolios and funds have underperformed market indexes over the last few [...]
Standard & Poor's, the granddaddy of indexing companies, has launched three new "thematic indices" for the clean and green crowd. Although not currently tradable, do not be surprised if index mutual funds or ETF's are soon created to mirror these baskets. They are:S&P Global Clean Energy Index: Representing 30 companies, 10 countries, and a total market capitalization of $117 Billion, this index is a composite of clean energy producers, equipment makers, [...]
Photo: AFP/Jim WatsonState legislatures all across the country, including my home state of Texas, are considering bills that would force state-sponsored investment funds to divest from companies profiting from business with the genocidal regime in Darfur. If successful, pension funds representing teachers, police, firefighters, and other government employees would have to dump billions of dollars in equity in the offending companies. Presumably, the tidal wave of supply in unwanted stock [...]
Market meltdowns, like the one we saw last week, and the one that may be forthcoming this week (as of this morning, the Asian markets took another nosedive), are no reason to panic. In fact, unless you are on the cusp of retirement (or currently retired), market corrections are mostly positive news. Corporate profits are at multi-year highs. U.S. corporations have as more cash on hand than at any time [...]
Can the Pariah be Rehabbed?Few companies raise the ire of the SRI crowd — or any other crowd, for that matter — as much as Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT). Most readers of Green Options do not need for me to recap all of the allegations of exploitative wages, sweatshop abuse, sprawl-mongering, Main Street destruction, and overall corporate rapaciousness. Yet, in the last year, the company has unveiled the following [...]
GE Shareholders: Stop Lobbying for Greenhouse Gas RegulationOne of the cornerstones of activist investors is lobbying for better carbon disclosure. As the thinking goes, putting it down on paper will make executives think about improving their carbon impact.Yesterday, General Electric (NYSE:GE) lost a shareholder bid to quash GE's lobbying efforts to better regulate carbon emissions. GE has a large "Ecomagination" business selling all manner of [...]
Ethanol Affecting Tortilla MakersInvestors who got on the ethanol bandwagon after LAST year's State of the Union address had a wild ride indeed. The frothiest (no pun intended) of them all was Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:PEIX). The Fresno, CA-based marketer and refiner started 2006 in the 11 range. After Bush's State of the Union, it nearly quadrupled to 42 by May. As of Friday, it closed [...]
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