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With each passing year, our ability to lead more environmentally conscious lives continues to grow. We can leave our environmentally sound house each morning, closing our solar powered garage door. and spiriting off in our all-electric cars to our job in the green sector. But one area of life that the green movement seems to have left behind is the world of investments.

Investments are a part of daily life. This is how many make their living and how many more than that earn their retirement. However, the ability for an environmentally conscious individual to invest in a purely green exchange traded fund has been a dream up until now.

Philippe Cousteau. the grandson of world-renowned explorer Jacques Cousteau, and Global Echo Foundation have come along to remedy to dearth in the green investment field called the Sustainable Exchange Traded Fund, heralded to be the first of its kind.

But first, what is an exchange traded fund?

This financial instrument is similar to both a mutual fund and a stock. An exchange traded fund is valuated throughout the day and is traded on Wall Street, just like a stock. So-called indexes are tracked and traded such as the Standard and Poors but individuals cannot buy or sell, this is done by brokers or advisors, like a mutual fund. These are attractive investments as they are low cost, low risk investments that are accessible to many more people than the stock market is.

In partnership with AdvisorShares, Cousteau and the Global Echo Foundation have created an arrangement that is part finance and part charity. With this fund, also considered to be a socially responsible fund, a percentage of the earnings are put into philanthropic endeavors, meaning that your investments can not only work for you, but for the environment too. The funds raised for the Global Echo Foundation will be used to fund a variety of philanthropic endeavors such as assisting women and children in social justice issues, as well as conservation and other traditionally environmentally-related causes.

The unique partnership between a non-profit organization and an investment instrument is a revolutionary way to help bring about change. These funds are invested in socially and environmentally responsible endeavors and a significant portion of the management fees go to the non-profit Global Echo Foundation. This is a way to utilize Wall Street to do as much good as possible. Your investments not only help to enhance environmental responsibility, but social responsibility as well.

Chris Keenan is a green and general blog writer. He writes for many sites including Precision Garage Door. Chris also maintains a personal house and garden blog .

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