Reply #54: Short route to a political statement (Heh-heh!) [View All]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?guid=%7B5608A9C7-A82C-427E-9EB5-EB3121C3E19B%7D&sitei

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Mad as hell about corporate policy? A new hedge fund is, and it's putting its money where its mouth is with an investment strategy of shorting shares of companies with which it takes issue.

By buying put options, or shorting a stock, the hedge fund hopes shares will fall, in effect punishing a company for what it calls "misdeeds" and profiting all the while. A portion of profits will go toward mending the social wounds inflicted by target companies.

The fund is the brainchild of Max Keiser, the investment activist, for lack of a better definition, who launched Karmabanque.com several years ago on a similar philosophy. Zac Goldsmith, son of famed corporate raider Sir James Goldsmith, is also a partner in the venture. Goldsmith's The Ecologist magazine will audit, track and publish results.

"For every 1,000 new boycotters, I and my group of investors/activists, including Zac, will increase the size of the fund by 5,000 pounds," says Keiser. "All profits (minus a two percent processing fee) will go the groups/people who are the victims of bad companies."

The London-based fund's first target is Coca Cola (KO: news, chart, profile).

more...