Stock market investments
If you want to invest ethically in the stock market there are a range of funds available. The fund managers invest according to strict ethical criteria and research companies thoroughly to ensure that they stick to their ethical corporate principles.
There are more than 30 UK funds which apply ethical or environmental criteria. To discover whether a particular fund matches your own concerns, you should study the fund manager’s stated investment policies. If you prefer to invest directly in shares then you could contact the Ethical Investment Research Service (Eiris) on 0207 840 5700 (http://www.eiris.u-net.com/).
Eiris is a charity which aims to raise public awareness of ethical investment and it will screen your existing portfolio for positive and negative features and create a list of companies that match your chosen ethical criteria. Investing directly will give you the right to attend a company’s annual general meeting, when you will be able to raise any concerns with the firm’s bosses.
Eiris also publishes the Money & Ethics guide which includes details of all ethical products available and the ethical investment policies of the different funds available. The charity maintains a list of advisers who put at least 40% of their business in ethical funds.
