Media Coverage of
Investing for the Soul

• Wall Street Journal
• MarketWatch
• BNN (Business News Network)
• The Financial Post
• Rogers Television's Money Line
• CBC One's Metro Morning
• 680 News Radio
• Environmental News Network
• The Catholic Register
• More...

Editorials

• Sustainability Profits Companies
• ESG Yields Profits
• Does Corporate Social Responsibility Increase Profits?
• Short Term Gain, Long Term Pain,
• India, Ancient Economic Behemoth, to Overtake China
• Frugality: A New Normal for Developed World Consumers
• Invest Ethically for ‘All Good’ Returns
• Investors Rush to Cash In on Climate Change
• Can US Bankers and Politicians be Truthful?
• Ethical Investors Successfully Engage Companies and Governments
• Religion: A Force in Ethical & Green Investing
• Unethical Investing By Charities
• Investing Ethically?
• The Rise of Islamic Finance
• US Government and Financial Elites Deceive Us
• The Ethics of Gold
• Unethical Statistics Lead Us Astray
• See all...

Shareholder Values

 
"70% increase since 2007 in the number of investors capitalizing on environmental trends [and] 54% of investors plan to invest in environmental technology over the next year."
-- Allianz Global
    Investors
    (USA) February 2010

"Canadian investors are generally favourable towards SRI. A third (32%) said they are 'very' or 'somewhat' interested. [Another] 55 per cent indicated that they would consider SRI if the return was 'as good or better' than other investments... The majority of investors surveyed view SRIs as 'futuristic' (78%) and 'a win-win for the individual and society' (77%)."
-- Ipsos Reid/
    Standard Life
    (Canada) October 2011

"European HNWI [High Net Worth Individuals] Sustainable Investment market... approximately €729 billion, representing an average of about 11% of European HNWIs’ portfolios as of December 31, 2009. This is a growth rate of 35% over the two-year period since the data was previously collected."
-- Eurosif
    (EU) September 2010

New survey by F&C Investments (UK) reveals insatiable public appetite for green investing

January 11, 2007

A survey conducted for F&C Investments has
revealed strong public demand for companies
to act responsibly on social, environmental
and ethical issues. The research also found
high levels of public interest in ethical
investments despite such funds still being a
relatively small portion of the overall savings
universe. The survey of 2,193 members of the
UK public was conducted last month by 72
Point Limited.

Asked ‘how important do you think it is for
companies to take social, environmental and
ethical issues seriously?’ some 47% of those
surveyed replied ‘very seriously’ and a further
40% ‘fairly seriously’. However, the survey
also revealed some regional trends with those
living in London, the South East and the
South West registering the highest scores.
Significantly, almost half of the public – some
48% of those surveyed – expressed an
interest in investing ethically with only 17%
specifically ruling it out. Of those interested in
ethical investment, more than a third (37.5%)
stated that they would be prepared to do so
‘even if it means a slightly lower return’.
Avoiding companies operating in countries
with poor human rights topped the list of
concerns followed closely by avoiding
companies that damage the environment,
according to the research.

“The is no doubt that the public have become
more concerned about environmental and
ethical issues in terms of the goods they buy
and the food they eat. This research shows
that they are also concerned about where
their money is invested when they hand it
over to an asset manager,” said Jason
Hollands, Director, Head of Communications
at F&C. “There ethical investment sector has
been growing rapidly in recent years both in
terms of the size of assets and the number of
products,“ said Hollands, “but it still
represents a very small proportion of the
overall retail funds market in the UK.”

“The research suggests that latent demand
for such funds is considerably greater than
current business volumes. There is a big
opportunity for financial advisers who
include questions about ethical investment
on their client fact finds to tap in to a rich
seam of demand,” Hollands concluded.
For a copy of the research please email
sarah.deutscher@fandc.com