Light green, dark green – there’s a whole range of shades when it comes to ethical investment opportunities. If you want to invest your money in line with your moral compass, then ethical investment funds or ‘green funds’ are suited to you. There are a few types to choose from; let’s check them out…
Dark green
Dark green funds refer to funds that hold international ethical values at the heart of their investment strategy. Funds such as Kames Ethical Equity excludes certain areas completely. Tobacco and alcohol, oil & gas, munitions manufacturers and companies that utilise animal testing will not be found in such a portfolio. Another fund by Kames is their Ethical Cautious Managed fund which excludes energy stocks, tobacco and banks with investment banking operations. It also excludes government gilts on the bond side.
Focused green
This is how we refer to ethical funds that only focus on a couple of particular areas for investment. Investing Ethically’s WHEB Sustainability fund has three focuses: health and population, climate change and resource efficiency. Legal & General’s Gender in Leadership fund is about investing purposefully without compromising returns – they believe that responsibly run, diverse companies will benefit both society and the investor.
Light green
Funds within the lighter shade of green have ethical focus; they may invest in companies that are responsible in their practices, but might still be part of an industry deemed to be less than ethical. Such a fund would invest in an oil company aiming to move over to greener sources of energy. One such fund is Vanguard’s SRI Global Stock Fund which only invests in companies that meet the UN’s Global Compact Standards on environmental protection, labour standards, human rights and controversial weapons (it also excludes tobacco companies).
Ethical investing offers the possibility of growing your wealth whilst benefiting society and is becoming more popular with investors of all ages. The ethical value of a particular fund, however, lies solely with the individual’s own personal values, as what is seen as ethical to one person may be deemed not so by another. That’s why it’s best to make sure each fund’s investment portfolio is consistent with your personal views before you invest.
With all investment opportunities, there can be no guarantee of returns regardless of the fund’s ethical objectives. There will always be a degree of risk involved. It’s clear that investing ethically is becoming an increasingly important consideration for investors. Reflecting this, the sector has developed to offer a much wider range of funds and opportunities to meet a broad range of investor needs. The growth of the sector can only be seen as a positive step for investors and the broader society.
If you’re interested in finding out more about investing ethically, do drop us a line.