Invest in This Bond and Help Save the World. Here’s How

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Now that’s a pretty rare opportunity. 

The investments you hold in your brokerage account no doubt have a purpose — to help you make money. But what if there were a way to make money while also promoting a cause you support, like the green movement?

Actually, there is. And if you’re willing to do some research, you might be able to help the planet in the course of growing your own personal wealth.

Go green while raking in the dough

If fighting climate change and supporting the green movement are things that are important to you, then you can allocate your investment dollars accordingly and give yourself something to feel good about. Different financial institutions offer ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, that focus on clean energy. But in some cases, you may be able to buy bonds issued by your own state, or an entity within your state, that support green initiatives locally.

In Connecticut, for example, there’s the Green Liberty Bond, whose proceeds will be used to fund eco-friendly projects at the local level. And if more states start issuing their own green bonds, it could pave the way for investors to make money while helping to clean up their own cities and promote more eco-friendly infrastructure.

The idea actually isn’t such a strange concept. States and cities have long issued bonds, known as municipal bonds, to fund public projects. What makes these bonds appealing is that they’re commonly backed by the full faith and credit of the issuing state, thereby minimizing the risk involved.

A city, for example, might issue bonds to improve a school district, clean up a park, or build a new roadway. As a bondholder, you get to benefit from regular interest payments until your bond matures, at which point you also get your principal investment back. So it’s not such a stretch for cities or states to issue bonds that work the same way whose purpose is to promote green initiatives.

How to invest your money in a manner that could save the world

Finding opportunities to invest in green bonds isn’t always easy — namely, because in many cases, they’ll only be issued in limited quantities, and you’ll need to know they exist to get your hands on them. Unlike stocks and ETFs, these types of bonds don’t trade publicly, so you may need to buy them directly from their source, such as an issuing bank.

But in this regard, a little digging and Google searching could go a long way, as it could be your ticket to unveiling similar opportunities to Connecticut’s Green Liberty Bond (whose next offering happens to be scheduled for April). But even if buying green bonds proves difficult, a simple search for “climate change ETFs” could leave you with a host of options to put your money into.

The iShares Global Clean Energy ETF is just one example, and there are many more like it. So if you’re serious about saving the planet while growing wealth, then it definitely pays to do your share of research.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Maurie Backman has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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