by Matt Moscardi

Created on: July 03, 2008   Last Updated: July 04, 2008

Investing green with a piece of your retirement, business assets, or general investment portfolio not only sends an important message, but has a long term ability to profit as the world goes greener. Hardcore DIYers may want to take more risk by investing in individual stocks, but I would not recommend it. If you're interested in it anyway, here's a good place to start. I recommend spreading your risk amongst a combination of ETFs (exchange traded funds) and mutual funds, and it's always best to understand your time horizon and not look at your investments every day. Green energy in particular can be volatile, so don't be scared when the markets are choppy.

So the questions is: where to start? Here are some basic steps you can take to invest greener or more responsibly:

1.) If you don't do it yourself, get a financial adviser. Preferably NOT at one of the large firms. While most of the large firms like Merril Lynch and Goldman Sachs have green investments on their platform, I find you have less control and the cost is often higher. Find someone local, someone you can trust, and always understand that there is a conflict of interest when someone is paid on commission. If you're a DIYer, I recommend online brokerages like AmeriTrade, optionsXpress, or eTrade - they tend to be cheaper than any brokerage house, and if you're comfortable managing your portfolio, they're definitely worth it after doing some research to figure out which works best for you.

2.) Allocate a % of your overall portfolio to green. This is a personal choice - it is always good to have your risk spread among many different industries, many different countries, and many different asset types. Green is just a part of the puzzle. For me, it's the whole puzzle, but I'm willing to take that risk. How much makes sense to you? 20%? 10%? 5%? When you make the decision, understand that green has to be a long term investment, at least 5 year horizon, and probably longer. Green can also be risky and volatile, like any stock. There are socially responsible income vehicles I will talk about that you can use to allay your risk, but better to understand the worst up front.

3.) Start investing with the old guard of green. There are some green funds that have been around for a long time, it makes sense to start with them. They have long, proven track records, and more importantly, have shown a long term dedication to green investing. Many funds are popping up on an almost weekly basis now as money floods green

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