Invest In Anti-Terrorism Mutual Funds

Whether you agree or disagree with the war in Iraq or even the “war on terror”, I think we can all find common ground in the fact that terrorism is a horrible reality in the world and it needs to be stopped. In order for terrorism to take place, it takes resources and these resources have to come from a some kind of funding. The fundamental reaon why the Bush Administration justifies their actions in the Middle East is because they believe that terrorism would not exist if oil-rich countries were not sponsoring terrorists. Terrorists are poor. If you think Osama Bin-Laden is a self made millionare, you are wrong. If you think that terrorists can still pull off acts like 9/11 with limited funding, you are wrong. Many leaders in our country believe that we need to cut off theses sources of funding and many believe that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries are funding terrorist groups. So, what can we do about this?

Congress has been trying to pass laws to stop allowing pension funds, 401(k)’s, and other company sponsored retirement plans from offering mutual funds that invest in companies from countries that are believed to sponsor terrorism. It sounds far fetched, but think about the impact that everyday Americans could have on the War on Terror if every person in the United States with a retirement plan stopped investing in companies from countries that sponsor terror. These companies would feel the effects. They might not feel it right away, but over a period of years, we will help contribute to stop a great deal of funding to terror.

One argument to this is that if we start consciously investing in companies from Middle Eastern countries, then who is to say that pro-life advocates should invest in companies that support abortion. Or people that advocate a strong policy on gun control should stop investing in mutual funds with pro-gun companies. Where would it ever end? Ultimately, we may be able to tie every company to a social issue that we don’t believe in. However, my argument is that terrorism is not a social issue. It is a real threat to every person in the world. It is the most dangerous phenomenon ever seen in history, because it is completely unpredictable. We don’t know who they are, we don’t know when they’ll strike next, and we don’t know how to stop it. We can band together and pick out the companies that help support and fund terrorism.

The Roosevelt Anti-Terror Multicap Fund is a mutual fund that does not invest in any companies from North Korea, Sudan, Syria, or Iran. It has been around for a while, but it started this philosophy of consciously not investing in companies from terror-sponsoring countries in 2005. The fund has a great track record. It has a 5 year rate of return of 13% and Nationwide is reportedly going to start offering this fund as part of their 401(k) porfolio.

This post is not about whether you love or hate George Bush, it’s not about whether you are anti-war or pro-war, it’s not even about being super paranoid about what companies you put your money into. It’s about banding together for helping to destroy terrorism. It’s going to take more than our army to destroy terrorism. It will take the uniting of the common masses including you and I. If you want to be a part of this, check out what companies your mutual funds invest in. Don’t dump all of your mutual funds right away and put your money in a safe. Just be more aware of where your money is going.