3 ms·

I've divested from oil companies, not because I think it will change corporate governance at XOM or BP, but because I like to buy things that I can hold for a d

I've divested from oil companies, not because I think it will change corporate governance at XOM or BP, but because I like to buy things that I can hold for a decade or three, without thinking too hard about them. I don't want to spend my time thinking about when, precisely, XOM and BP will have peaked. I'd rather just get rid of them and free up that mental space to concentrate on what's next in the world of energy generation, storage, and transmission.

ineedasername 7y ago
Sure, that makes a lot of sense, but what companies can you invest in that you wouldn't have to worry about for that long?
- windexh8er 7y ago
  For most people that's the wrong question. If you have capital that can be applied to long term resolute ideals you likely don't have to worry about capital in general. We all know fossil fuels have have an expiration date. We can easily state that money invested in building next generation power acquisition, delivery and storage will displace them. But again, you need a stack of chips to play.
  - coliveira 7y ago
    This is a good idea, unfortunately when it comes to investment it is not enough for a company to be in the right track. It also needs to dominate the market, which is more difficult. For example, lots of companies were created in the Internet bubble, but only a few survived and came to dominate the market.
- mochris 7y ago
  Venture (and venture-like) investing has a less than 30-year horizon but it's a single investment decision followed by essentially no other decisions, except what to do with the returned capital. A lot of large tech stocks, beloved consumer companies (cost, dis, sbux, mcd, ko, tgt...), a few pharmas, banks have been around for a long time, and will still be around in another decade. I'm happy to keep them in my portfolio for the foreseeable future. Some types of real estate fit the bill (farms and timber. residential and commercial in some locations). There are places where the world changed and I probably should've bailed a little sooner, but I really don't know how anybody can look at the cost curves for renewables or energy storage and walk away thinking that fossil fuels are a solid long-term investment. They don't spark joy. Thank them for their service, and hit the fucking bid.

ineedasername 7y ago

Sure, that makes a lot of sense, but what companies can you invest in that you wouldn't have to worry about for that long?

windexh8er 7y ago
For most people that's the wrong question. If you have capital that can be applied to long term resolute ideals you likely don't have to worry about capital in general. We all know fossil fuels have have an expiration date. We can easily state that money invested in building next generation power acquisition, delivery and storage will displace them. But again, you need a stack of chips to play.
- coliveira 7y ago
  This is a good idea, unfortunately when it comes to investment it is not enough for a company to be in the right track. It also needs to dominate the market, which is more difficult. For example, lots of companies were created in the Internet bubble, but only a few survived and came to dominate the market.
mochris 7y ago
Venture (and venture-like) investing has a less than 30-year horizon but it's a single investment decision followed by essentially no other decisions, except what to do with the returned capital. A lot of large tech stocks, beloved consumer companies (cost, dis, sbux, mcd, ko, tgt...), a few pharmas, banks have been around for a long time, and will still be around in another decade. I'm happy to keep them in my portfolio for the foreseeable future. Some types of real estate fit the bill (farms and timber. residential and commercial in some locations). There are places where the world changed and I probably should've bailed a little sooner, but I really don't know how anybody can look at the cost curves for renewables or energy storage and walk away thinking that fossil fuels are a solid long-term investment. They don't spark joy. Thank them for their service, and hit the fucking bid.