Trade Like Al Gore

Al Gore has woven his eco-philosophy into every aspect of his life from politics, where he's considered a possible presidential candidate for 2008; to media (his Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth and his Current TV), and now to financial management.

Along with former Goldman Sachs executive David Blood, Gore started Generation Investment Management, an investment firm with more than $1 billion under management that focuses on companies that "create value and sustain competitive advantage."

Gore states, "Integrating issues such as climate change into investment analysis is simply common sense."

At Stockpickr, we set up the Al Gore Generation Investment Management portfolio so investors can see which companies Gore and Blood believe are the most "sustainable" and have an economic advantage over their competitors.

Sustainability for Gore and Blood means not just companies that are eco-friendly, but that also have a culture of ethical responsibility toward their employees and their customers. They state:

We research sustainability themes that have the potential to impact the long-term operating context for business such as:

• Climate change
• Pandemics/ HIV/AIDS
• Poverty / Real Needs
• Water
• Human Capital
• Lobbying
• Corporate Governance
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Bribery/ Corruption
• Demography/ Urbanization

For instance, their firm invests in Blackbaud(BLKB Quote), a company that specializes in financial software for charities.

Its primary software is used to manage all aspects of a foundation's fund-raising efforts, but it also has accounting software that's specialized for a nonprofit's needs. With a 40% return on equity and a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 21, Blackbaud is cheap here.