Money as a Voting mechanism
My thinking toolkit got enriched with a new tool of thought. Thinking money as a way to vote.
(We all have one life. It's better to learn from the mistakes of others instead of doing our own. If learning the best from smarter people is a motto for your education, then Mike Dariano is a vice-chancellor in that university. He has an excellent blog, where takes meticulous notes from podcasts, books, videos of many smart people. He links it with his previous learnings. It is very inspiring to see his writings and learnings. He indeed is an ambassador for the "Getting 1% better everyday" way of living.)
In Mike's monthly newsletter, I came across the book recommendation. It is Invested by Danielle Town. It is a book about value investing written with a beginner's mind and highly recommended. So I started digging about Danielle and bumped into a podcast episode and a TED talk.
(It is short, and I highly recommend it, if you are interested in improving your skills in understanding investing and pick better stocks. I will be reading the book in the next months, and I will share my learnings and notes here.)
The critical thing that I gained from her talk is that: anything that we do with our money is a vote for something that we value. If we are buying a sustainably made product or organic clothing or anything that we consciously choose, we are making a statement to the society, to the market as well as the company. If we are buying a can of Diet Coke, we believe in the Coca Cola corporation, and with money, we are choosing them and sending a signal to the market.
Why is this little notion important?
As a consumer, we have power in choosing things and buying with our money. The same lens can be used as an investor in picking and choosing the stock.
By buying a stock, we are voting for that company. For its values and the beliefs, we cherish closely and expect it to be reflected or honoured in that company. Very similar to Warren Buffett saying, by buying a stock, you own the business, you are in a partnership. Will you commit to a partnership without doing enough research and diligence about the partner?
In some ways, this notion frees up your mind as an investor. You have straightforward ways to pick and choose a company. But it is not easy. Hoping to learn more about this and share it with you all soon.
