Australian Ethical Investments has announced plans to invest in ethically dubious energy firms with the aim of changing their business practices through shareholder activism. The Climate Advocacy Fund (CAF), launched today, will invest in big polluters with the aim of using shareholder influence to encourage firms to green themselves up. Companies will urged to rethink [...]
The Co-operative Financial Services and Ecclesiastical Investment Management were named yesterday as sponsors of the third annual National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW). NEIW 2010, on 7-13 November, is a series of events and other activities across the UK to raise awareness of green and ethical investment options. UKSIF, the sustainable investment association behind NEIW, said [...]
The small number of ethical funds with investments in BP are considering pulling out of the beleaguered oil supplier – two months after the biggest oil spill in history began on BP’s watch. BP is a ‘light green’ company, meaning ethical investors buy shares in the firm to encourage it, as shareholders, to behave in [...]
Ethical investors looking to put money into emerging market economies should avoid China, Egypt and Vietnam, the Ethical Investment Research Service (Eiris) has claimed. Research by the group found these three countries to be the worst performers in terms of Environmental, Social, and Governance indicators. The three best-performing emerging market countries were South Korea, Brazil, [...]
Islamic finance is set to grow at double the pace of the conventional banking sector, Singapore’s finance minister has claimed. Lim Hung Kiang said he expects the sector to break through the $1 trillion mark in total assets by the end of 2010. Speaking yesterday at the World Islamic Banking Conference Asia Summit in Singapore, [...]
At least ten self-proclaimed “ethical” funds hold shares in BP despite the oil producer’s pivotal role in the worst oil spill in history. The ethical investment funds holding BP in their portfolio include SWIP Pan-European SRI Equity, SWIP Global SRI, Real Life A, Church of England Investment, COIF Charities Investment, Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity, Marlborough [...]
Since the financial crisis city bankers, fund managers and financial advisers have become more aware than ever before of green and ethical investment options. Recent research by F&C Investments found 73% of investors would consider taking advantage of an ethical investment trust if one became available. According to the UK sustainable investment and finance association [...]
Ethical investors in Wales are being given the opportunity to invest in an organic market garden. The 10-acre site will supply fresh produce – including vegetables, salads, and fruit – for Cardiff’s Riverside Market and a vegetable box scheme. The social enterprise will have an estimated turnover of £170,000 and will provide enough vegetables to [...]
Nearly three quarters (72%) of charity workers believe their pension should be invested ethically. Research by the Pensions Trust found charity workers rate ethical investment as one of the most important attributes for their pension scheme. Other pension attributes rated important by charity workers included value at retirement and company engagement with shareholders. Seven in [...]
New Zealand MPs are set to vote on a bill that would ensure government funds are ethically invested. The bill, sponsored by MP Grant Robertson, would mean the government could only invest in socially and environmentally responsible companies. “I believe that New Zealanders want [government] investments to be ethically sound,” Robertson said. “What this Bill [...]
Social enterprises are underfunded because they lack access to capital, according to a new report launched this week in Australia. The Financing Social Enterprise report, researched by Foresters Community Finance, said social enterprises are often unable to access finance from mainstream lending institutions. “The greatest challenge for emerging social businesses is their lack of access [...]
A new social enterprise is looking to transform redundant Victorian river weirs into hydroelectric turbines. H2oPE is installing the turbines at two locations in northern England, and is looking for small-scale investors to back the new schemes. Investors can buy shares in a particular turbine for just £1 each, with a minimum purchase of 250 [...]
Charities should ensure their investments and pension schemes match up to their ideals by putting their money into an ethical fund, an ethical financial adviser claimed yesterday. Barchester Green Investment (BGI) made the comment as it begins working with two leading social enterprises, SEDEX and World Development Movement, on designing and selecting ethical pension schemes [...]
Norway’s government pension fund can no longer be invested in tobacco companies under new guidelines introduced by the country’s Ministry of Finance. “Production of tobacco has been introduced as a new criterion for exclusion, and we have already followed up the Council on Ethics’ recommendations to sell our holdings in tobacco producing companies,” said finance [...]
Faith communities need to do more to understand the environmental and social consequences of the financial markets, according to church leaders in Scotland. Rev Ian Galloway, convenor of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, said: “Communities of faith need to consider the social and environmental impacts of our financial system.” He added that [...]
The finance arm of the Church of England has said it will withdraw its £2.5 million investment from Vedanta, an India-based mining project, over concerns about human rights abuses by the company. In a statement released Friday, the church said Vedanta has not done enough to improve its respect for human rights. Campaigners who believe [...]
Socially responsible investments marginally outperformed the standard market over the past decade, new research has revealed. Jantzi, a Toronto-based environmental and social responsibility research firm, said its Jantzi Social Index (JSI), made up of green and ethical companies, produced an average annual return of 5.68% between 2000 and 2009. This is compared to an average [...]
John Wesley, the 18th century founder of the Methodist Church, was one of the first people to champion ethical investments, it has been revealed. Wesley’s investment motto, which he declared in a sermon more than 200 years ago, was to ” Gain all we can without hurting our neighbour.” Wesley urged investors to avoid putting [...]
Only half of Brits would be interested in finding out the ethical credentials of the next financial product they purchase, new research has discovered. The EIRIS (Experts in Responsible Investment Solutions)-commissioned poll found that just 44% of the British public are curious to know whether or not their money is being invested ethically. Of these, [...]
More than two thirds of the British public consider their outlook on life to be either very or fairly green and ethical, new research has discovered. The YouGov poll, conducted on behalf of National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW), also found that nearly half (49%) of people with savings and investments would like to use their [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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