Ethical investment generally refers to measures taken during the investment process to avoid investments that directly or indirectly promote what are seen as negative outcomes such as arms proliferation or environmentally damaging enterprises. This negative screening is what is mostly commonly thought of as ethical investing, but it also increasingly includes shareholder activism whereby shares are taken, or retained, in a company in an attempt to influence company strategy and effect a positive change in corporate behaviour.
Where ethical investment tends to be used in the screening out of ethically questionable investments socially responsible investment is used to denote the more positive inclusion of investments that support social and environmental good.
Campaigning charities FairPensions and WWF have joined a coalition which is lobbying oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell over their investments in environmentally controversial oil sands developments.
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust has sold its £1.9m stake in FTSE100 mining company Vedanta, just days after the Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board sold their shares in the company worth £3.8m.
The Royal Society Enterprise Fund, which supports early new technology enterprises and a culture of scientific innovation in the UK, has invested in Base4Innovation and Nano-Porous Solutions.
Big Issue Invest is set to receive £250,000 for its Social Ethical Investment Fund from a new social investment initiative between fundraising and philanthropy consultancy, Bethechange and wealth management boutique, Addidi.
I was watching Dave one evening last week (as you do) when the 2007 episode of Dragons Den featuring social entrepreneur Paige Allen came on. I’d not seen it before so I watched with interest.
The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board have sold their shares worth £3.8m in controversial mining company Vedanta on the advice of the Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group.
The Social Investment Business is closing the Futurebuilders Fund to new applicants following a big rise in demand for finance from sector organisations.
The East London Bond, which is being offered by national bond issuing charity CityLife to fund social and economic renewal in the area, has opened for investment and already received pledges of more than £1m.
Triodos has launched a climate change bond, which will be used exclusively to finance organisations that actively work against the causes of climate change.
In the battle for ethical trading, Monday 7 December will go down as Black Monday - the day when the Fairtrade Foundation finally lost all credibility.
The Methodist Church has come under fire for investing in oil companies, environmental enemy no.1. Its defence rests on the power of engagement –it’s better to work on the environmental policies from the inside out - influencing behaviour and demanding change with their stakeholder vote.
The Methodist Church’s investment arm has outlined a strategy to create and manage portfolios with a carbon footprint that is relatively low and measurably declining.
Over 70 per cent of social enterprises failed to get a loan from community development finance institutions (CDFIs) in 2009, according to the Community Development Finance Association's report Inside Out: Weathering the Storm.
CharityBank has teamed up with Liverpool Vision, the city’s economic development company, to set up a £5m investment fund to support community enterprises in one of the city’s poorest areas.
Impetus Trust is making an initial investment of £50,000 in the FRC Group, a social enterprise which creates opportunities to improve the lives of the unemployed and people living in poverty.
A record number of firms participated in the 2009 Charity Finance Fund Management Survey, which is based on information from 49 fund managers with a combined total of £40bn of charity funds under management.
The Ethical Property Company has raised 3.1m euros (£2.6m) in a private share issue in Belgium. Its new sister company, Ethical Property Europe, will use the funding to set up a network of campaigning hubs in several European cities including Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Far more charities will avoid investing in tobacco on ethical grounds than any other stock - even military involvement. According to new research from the Charity Finance Directors’ Group (CFDG) and EIRIS Foundation, over half of all large UK charities (those with more than £1m income) now have an ethical investment policy.
Charity Bank deposits grew by almost seven per cent last year, its newly published 2008 accounts have revealed.
HSBC has created a new investment vehicle with the tax advantages of an ISA in a bid to raise £50m to help vaccinate children.
Where now for SRI, asks Sam Collin. It is perhaps not surprising that with an estimated 19 per cent drop in the value of charity investments and increasing pressure on resources charities are focusing on income generation rather than reviewing their investment policy. Socially responsible investment (SRI) may be slipping off the agenda, at least for now.
Crisis has claimed victory as government ministers finally unveiled plans to beat homelessness in the capital by 2012 with a £200m investment.
In times of uncertainty, the charitable investor should step back and focus on broader trends
The majority of the general public would be less likely or unwilling to give to a charity if they found out it was not investing in line with its mission, according to new research.
Futurebuilders Scotland helped to increase social economy activity in the country but relied too much on traditional grantmaking to be taken seriously as a new form of investment, according to the official post-mortem report of the fund's performance.
The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) has once again reported a huge increase in its income, thanks to a £320.4m donation from hedge fund manager Chris Hohn.
Futurebuilders expects to do away with application forms and invite prospective lendees straight to interview, according to its chief executive Jonathan Lewis.
The Church Commissioners for England has reported strong investment returns for last year despite excluding certain stocks on ethical grounds from its portfolio.
The importance of investment issues is widely under-estimated and the process is under-resourced, according to a new report into charity asset management.
Why the Charity Commission’s ethical investment guidance is likely to generate unnecessary caution
