After spending the last year and a half helping Forbes build out a popular new digital vertical devoted to vices, Forbes Vices, I’m transitioning to strategic consulting for vice companies. My expertise is in helping adult, gambling, cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and firearms businesses grow their brands and includes strategic planning, branding, public relations, marketing, and digital. Interested in becoming a client? Email me at susannahbreslin@gmail.com.
On my Forbes blog, I did a fun roundup of the year in vice. For some reason, Memphis was a standout for me. Was it the fried chicken, the strip club money wars, the faded grandeur of Graceland? Looking back, it's hard to say, but sometimes you find joy in unlikely places, and in this case that was Bluff City.
Las Vegas reconsiders its nickname:
"'In Christianity sin refers to deliberate disloyalty to the divine,' Jameson said. 'Does Las Vegas foster individuals to miss the point of existence or to be separated from the living, loving presence of God more than other cities? Probably not.'"
[Las Vegas Review-Journal]
I interviewed a Wall Street gambling addict for my latest Forbes post. Got a problem vice (sex, drugs, cigs, booze, gambling, etc.) and interested in being interviewed anonymously for my Forbes blog? Email me.
"How much would you estimate you’ve won and lost?
I always wonder about this. I’m quite sure I’ve lost more than I’ve won, but I honestly have no idea. I’m not sure I’d want to know. No matter what, though, you never forget the big weeks where it was almost impossible to lose."
[Forbes]
Do you believe in virtuous investing? I don't. The intention of investing is to make money; the intention of capitalism is not to do good.
For those who embrace vice, like me, there's the Vice Fund. For those who prefer something more pure, there's Ave Maria Mutual Funds.
Four practices that will get a company banned from the Ave Maria funds: Supporting abortion; supporting embryonic stem cell research (because it "is closely linked to abortion"); contributing to Planned Parenthood; and involvement with pornography.
While the philosophy no doubt will rankle progressive sensibilities, it's hard to argue with the results.
Ave Maria's flagship Rising Dividend fund carries Morningstar's top five-star designation and is up 26.8 percent in 2013. That puts it in front of the S&P 500, which has gained 25.3 percent on a total-return basis. The fund has $642.2 million under management as part of Ave Maria's $1.4 billion total handle.
[CNBC]
