Thomas Croft’s Up From Wall Street: The Responsible Investment Alternative, recently published by Cosimo, has garnered a fantastic review from James McRitchie at CorpGov.net:

[S]hould be read by all working North Americans, concerned with the reckless loans and short-term stock market bets that nearly plunged the world’s economy into chaos….

Croft does and excellent job of explaining the rise of “financialization,” short-termism and how buyout and hedge funds “provided some of the black powder that quickened the landslide.” Trustees, union, and members of funds who want to influence them will benefit substantially from the chapter, “Action Steps for Trustees: How to Talk Back to Experts.” Here Croft lays out how to get fund consultants to expand their horizons to include consideration of investments that can earn high risk-adjusted returns over the long-run, which also help sustain employers and communities. The chapter includes 12 steps with specific advice, such as “Ask your consultant to independently verify the sources and amount of returns from private equity funds… disclose cash in/cash out documentation.”

Part two of the book is a “field guide” that provides information on six responsible private equity and venture capital funds. Each fund is profiled for structure, capacity, products, impacts, financial performance, experience of principals and at least a case study or two of the firm’s investments. Yes, you can make money while doing good. These firms have proven that and continue to do so through the financial melt-down.

Read the whole review at CorpGov.net.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.