How individuals and communities can profit from local investing In the wake of the financial crisis, investors are faced with a stark choice: entrust their hard-earned dollars to the Wall Street casino, or settle for anemic interest rates on savings, bonds, and CDs. Meanwhile, small businesses are being starved for the credit and capital they need to grow. There's got to be a better way.
In Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit from It, Amy Cortese takes us inside the local investing movement, where solutions to some of the nation's most pressing problems are taking shape. The idea is that, by investing in local businesses, rather than faceless conglomerates, investors can earn profits while building healthy, self-reliant communities.
- Introduces you to the ideas and pioneers behind the local investing movement
- Profiles the people and communities who are putting their money to work in their own backyards and taking control of their destinies
- Explores innovative investment strategies, from community capital and crowdfunding to local stock exchanges
With confidence in Wall Street and the government badly shaken, Americans are looking for alternatives. Local investing offers a way to rebuild our nest eggs, communities, and, just perhaps, our country.
Praise for Locavesting "Investing locally makes sense as long as you do it with your eyes wide open. And this book is a realistic up-to-the-minute exploration of the field. After all, it was the local community that invested in Ben & Jerry's-and it worked out pretty well for them."
-BEN COHEN, cofounder of Ben & Jerry's
"An inspiring look at what local businesses can achieve."
-JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ, 2001 Nobel Laureate
"Buy this book before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) bans it! Locavesting demolishes the myth that the best investment options lie in the financial-doomsday machine we call Wall Street. Fasten your belt for a mind-blowing journey where you will learn about dozens of highly profitable community investment opportunities. Amy Cortese takes you on a breathtaking ride."
-MICHAEL SHUMAN, author of The Small-Mart Revolution and Going Local
We have witnessed the failings of an unfettered free market system, tallied in lost jobs, stagnant wages, rising inequality, and languishing Main Streets. Isn't it time for a backup plan?
Locavesting is a call to rethink the way we invest, so that we support the small businesses that create jobs and healthy, resilient communities. Just as "Buy Local" campaigns have found that a small shift in purchasing to locally-owned enterprises can reap outsized benefits for a local economy, so, too, can a small shift in our investment dollars. Amy Cortese explores the revolution in citizen finance taking root across the country, and shows how local investing can help rebuild our nest eggs, our communities and-just perhaps-the country.
