The shunned-stock hypothesis and why we should all invest in oil companies

By Trey Thoelcke Published Apr 28, 10:54AM EDT

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The shunned-stock hypothesis and why we should all invest in oil companies — © ronniechua / iStock via Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

(Mark Hulbert, an author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest; his Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — New research finds that many of us are avoiding climate-friendly companies that happen to be in a climate-unfriendly industry.

This guilt by association is unfortunate for any of a number of reasons. Since the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions comes from a handful of “dirty” industries, we arguably can do more to help the environment by investing in those industries’ cleaner companies. Regrettably, however, climate-friendly investors’ instinct is to avoid these industries altogether.

Climate-friendly investors need to become more discriminating, seeking out the cleanest companies within the dirtiest industries. We may have to hold our noses when doing so, since it can feel better to simply avoid those industries altogether. But we very well will do more for the climate by nevertheless doing that. . . .

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.