“Banks are putting the breaks on loans, and many stock brokers are too busy looking for new jobs to be effective. Company valuations are low, real estate prices are still falling, and small businesses are hurting for new capital,” Josh said. “Where some see a crisis, and while so many are distracted, we feel this is a tremendous time to do well by doing good. Investors can and should step in as activists in this market, and direct their dollars towards companies and concepts that embrace environmental, social, and governance concerns not just long-term profitability. In addition, they should be focused on opportunities that contribute to the local economy as a way of supporting their own communities.”

The lecture, which is open to the public, will be held on November 19th from 6-8PM at DwellSmart, Charleston’s premiere resource for healthy, sustainable living, at 615 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Mount Pleasant, SC. Space is limited, so please call Silverman Strategies at     (843) 276-6316     or via email to info@silvermanstrategies.com to reserve your place.

Investors were kept in the dark about many of these deals, which were often buried in corporate reports and incomprehensible to auditors. At the same time, mutual fund investing and third party money manager programs were aggressively promoted by those same financial institutions, further removing the investor from their ability to apply oversight and exert influence on individual investments, relegating them to a passive role.

A key tenet of 100-Mile Investing is personal responsibility. Clients are encouraged to become more informed by investing in locally based companies, to attend annual meetings, read corporate literature, and make their voices heard through proxy votes and shareholder resolutions. In the end, this approach will not only help investors understand why companies perform the way they do, and allow them to have anticipate movement in the market, but to effect change when necessary.

I have taken issue with the recent bank bailout, not just because, as Ralph Nader put it, we’re getting “socialism without the benefits” like universal healthcare or secure retirement. This new move by George Bush and the U.S. Treasury Department - direct investment in the stock of banks to prop up their values - effectively puts your money at significant risk for loss while taking away your voice in how those companies are run, limits your ability to perform any due diligence before your money is invested, and prevents you from deciding when to get out. We can’t even charge the government interest for the loan.

At least investors had a choice before in being passive, and could choose to self-direct their investments. Now we’re all being relegated to the role of silent partner.

While past performance is not an indicator of future results, the performance of politicians in systematically taking our fundamental rights as shareholders has been nothing but consistent, and does not bode well for the future of the individual within our financial system.

Josh Silverman used to work for Merrill Lynch, which was purchased by Bank of America last month for about $50 billion.

He said he saw the writing on the wall in 2006: There was a need for more alternative lending solutions. After all, Merrill Lynch was farming out a lot of business it considered too insignificant, Silverman said.

So he started Charleston-based Silverman Strategies, and became a registered investment adviser, helping to bring lenders and borrowers together through private equity or social venture arrangements. Silverman said the current blowup in financial markets has helped him.

“It actually made what I do more in demand,” he said. “Because people need advice.”

Big bankers and brokers don’t always do a good job keeping their customers informed about the condition of their investment portfolios, he said. What’s more, a lot of these managers now are out of work or moving between companies. So more people are calling Silverman for help.

Read the full article at the Post & Courier.

Retirement plans whacked. Those hardest hit by the crisis are seniors who have a lot of their retirement income in the stock market, which has fallen significantly in the last two weeks. They’re feeling more pain because they don’t have as much time as, say, a guy who is 40, to wait for the market to right itself and for investments to recover.

Josh Silverman, a registered investment advisor with Silverman Strategies in Charleston, long has been preaching for people not to put all of their investment eggs in one basket like the stock market.

“A diverse investor has diverse assets that are non-correlated, which means they are not all tied to stock market,” Silverman said. “Things like gold, oil, currencies and commodities - - these are things that have nothing that do with the stock market and historically do very well when the stock market is volatile.”

Read the full article at the S.C. Statehouse Report website.

They even got my picture:  Check out the Post & Courier article to find out more.

Post & Courier also caught a sound byte: click here to hear.

Becoming a signatory reaffirms our commitment to working with investors and institutions to provide more clarity in oversight and advice with regard to environmental, social, and governance issues in our investment practice.  These issues have played a key role in our analysis of mutual funds, stocks, and other securities over the years, and it is a tremendous honor to be chosen.

From the PRI website:

As institutional investors, we have a duty to act in the best long-term interests of our beneficiaries. In this fiduciary role, we believe that environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues can affect the performance of investment portfolios (to varying degrees across companies, sectors, regions, asset classes and through time). We also recognise that applying these Principles may better align investors with broader objectives of society.

Please visit the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment website for more information: http://www.unpri.org

Just as the “eat local” movement popularized in the 100-Mile Diet has spurred new interest in community-based agriculture, financial expert Josh Silverman believes the concept can also be applied to investing for equally dramatic results.

“People have become distanced from their money, putting it into faceless investments that have little to do with their own community,” says Silverman, managing partner of Silverman Strategies, based in Charleston, South Carolina.  “Being a socially responsible investor means knowing where and how your dollars are being put to work, whether it’s a company headquartered in the area or through a mutual fund that promotes energy independence.  100-Mile Investing™ can boost your portfolio by starting in your own backyard.  It’s about making money and making a difference.”

Lowcountry Local First and the Sustainability Institute are sponsoring a free public lecture by Silverman on September 10^th, 2008, from 6-8 p.m. in the Studio at Noisette, 1360 Truxtun Ave, Bldg 7, North Charleston, SC.  Silverman will share his pioneering perspective on a variety of local investment strategies, including publicly-traded companies, municipal investments, small business development, and LEED-certified real estate financing.  Space is limited, so please reserve your place by contacting Jamee Haley: jamee@lowcountrylocalfirst.org or by phone (843) 740-5444.

Silverman Strategies discovers opportunities for our clients to do well by doing good, aligning principles with portfolios for successful growth.  Our services are client-specific, including fee-only responsible investment advice, comprehensive small business consulting, and investment capital for sustainable real estate projects and local business development.  In helping our clients make informed, savvy decisions, we believe that an independent, intelligent approach to building financial wealth can positively impact our community and our environment.  Silverman Strategies was recently chosen as a signatory for the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment, and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the United States Green Building Council’s Green Schools Advocacy Committee. 100-Mile Investing is a registered trademark of Silverman Strategies.  To learn more, contact us at (843) 276-6316 or visit www.silvermanstrategies.com.

Lowcountry Local First (LLF), headquartered in North Charleston, SC, is the 44^th member organization in a national network of non-profits dedicated to strengthening their local economies, called the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. LLF is committed to uniting local businesses with the mission to promote and preserve the Lowcountry economy through the promotion of local goods and services. To learn more about LLF, visit www.lowcountryfirst.org.

The Sustainability Institute is an award-winning, non-profit organization working to achieve a sustainable South Carolina - a place where homes and communities are developed and restored to be healthy and environmentally sound, where residents actively participate in community decision-making, and where our natural resources and systems are protected for the enjoyment of future generations.  To find out more about the Sustainability Institute, please visit www.sustainabilityinstitutesc.org.