Mindful Investing: Jan 23rd, 2020

Locally-owned businesses represent 60 to 80 percent of the U.S. economy and are highly profitable and competitive, yet they are disconnected from the trillions of dollars invested in Wall Street mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance funds that control your long-term retirement savings. 

Recent changes in the law make it cheaper and easier for all of us to invest in local businesses, projects, and people, but almost no one knows how to connect these opportunities with our current retirement and workplace savings plans. Self-Directed IRAs, solo 401(k)s, and employee-directed 401(k)s are alternatives, but are underutilized. This is due to legal barriers, cost barriers, and lack of public awareness and education. 

We want to change that and tap into the incredible potential of retirement savings to help you invest in locally-owned and socially-just enterprises!

Erin Axelrod is a partner and worker-owner at LIFT Economy, specializing in accelerating the spread of climate-benefitting and land-based businesses in the Next Economy. She does this through a range of initiatives including client work, a regenerative agriculture investor network (RAIN), the Force for Good Fund and a Restorative Ocean Economies Field-Building Initiative. She also lives and works on a Grassfed beef and Land Restoration Project, Freestone Ranch, just outside of her hometown of Petaluma.