A simple question?

Over the past few months Barry and I have been working on organizing our finances. Both of us have had numerous employers over the years, which have generated a large number of retirement savings accounts that are difficult to track and manage. A friend recommended a financial advisor and we decided to work with him. This exercise was largely motivated by wanting to make things easier for the one(s) left behind, but looking at it more optimistically, it has been an opportunity to assess where we stand for the coming years. Transferring all the accounts that could be transferred (since Barry is still employed by Mount Sinai, some of his have to stay put for now) has been a tedious process. But finally we are just about all set, having moved everything we could into one main account, and our advisor sent us a quick note with a seemingly simple question:

Would either of you have any objection to owning tobacco-related companies in your portfolios?

I am reminded of the Arlo Guthrie saga, “Alice’s Restaurant,” in which Officer Opie asks Arlo whether he has “rehabilitated himself” after having illegally disposed of a truckload of garbage. I think I need to be singing a few bars of Alice’s Restaurant in order to answer this question. The song was not really about waste removal, and this tale is not really about our financial accounts.

As all of you reading this know, although I never smoked cigarettes, I have struggled with pulmonary disease for over twenty years, and have been on full-time supplemental oxygen for the past five or so. To say that I do not wish to support tobacco companies would be an understatement. And yet, it is likely that there are other companies that are part of the potential investment portfolio that may be equally distasteful to me. Is it hypocritical to single out the tobacco industry? They are surely not the only ones who are potentially harming our health and environment. I struggle with fragrances but I don’t think I would object to cosmetic companies being included in the portfolio. Oh, but wait, are they testing those cosmetics on animals? I am, after all, a vegetarian, so maybe I should steer (no pun intended) clear of them as well. Where does it end?

Perhaps the bottom line is that there is no perfect answer. Here is how I responded to the question:

We would prefer not to include tobacco-related companies in our portfolio. We recognize that this one small act will not have a major impact on the world, but as someone who struggles with pulmonary disease (not related to tobacco, as I have never smoked a cigarette in my life), I am hard pressed to think about reaping financial benefit from the tobacco industry.  

So much to ponder….meanwhile, stay cool. It is as hot here in New York as it was last week in Florida!

  

Love,

Rebecca