• Values based investing is our preferred term for what some might call “ethical”, “sustainable” or “socially responsible” investing.
• Vales are personal, so fund managers may differ in opinion as to what constitutes “ethical”
• You can apply negative criteria to help choose which funds might match your values e.g. a fund that does NOT invest in tobacco manufacture and retail
• In some cases you may be adamant you do not want to support companies which are associated with things like animal testing, gambling or GM products. Pest control for example could be screened out by those concerned with animal rights
• Or you can use positive criteria and look to invest in companies that are making a positive difference, for example those tackling climate change.
• You may prefer to seek out companies that are operating in specific areas such as good governance or actively engaging with countries to improve human rights. For some, drug companies may meet their positive criteria for the work they do developing drugs to improve quality of life.
Our job is to meet your goals and objectives and to investigate whether we can find investments that match your values within those parameters. Increasingly the fund management companies are becoming more aware of the consumer desire for values-based investment so there is more choice available.
Our "Guide To Values-based Investing" covers a wide range of positive and negative screening criteria for you to explore. If you would like to consider this aspect of your investment strategy the guide includes a questionnaire to help discover what is important to you.
ruth.power@finman.co.uk