This volume breaks new ground by approaching Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) as an explicitly ethical practice in financial markets. The work explains the philosophical and practical shortcomings of ’long term shareholder value’ and the origins and conceptual structure of SRI, and links its pursuit to both its deeper philosophical foundations and the broader, multi-dimensional global movement towards greater social responsibility in global markets. Interviews with fund managers in the Australian SRI sector generate recommendations for better integrating ethics into SRI practice via ethically informed engagement with invested companies, and an in-depth discussion of the central practical SRI issue of fiduciary responsibility strengthens the case in favour of SRI. The practical and ethical theoretical perspectives are then brought together to sketch out an achievable ideal for SRI worldwide, in which those who are involved in investment and business decisions become part of an ’ethical chain’ of decision makers linking the ultimate owners of capital with the business executives who frame, advocate and implement business strategies. In between there are investment advisors, fund managers, business analysts and boards. The problem lies in the fact that the ultimate owners are discouraged from considering their own values, or even their own long term interests, whilst the others often look only to short term interests. The solution lies in the latter recognising themselves as links in the ethical chain.

Ethical investment has made great strides in recent years, but many professional investors and most IFAs (from whom the majority of the public still get their investment advice) remain unsure about this fast growing sector. This book helps professionals to: Understand the ethical dimension in investment and, in particular, the economic and investment value considerations that underpin investments with an ethical and socially responsible focus Include consideration of the ethical dimension in their 'know your client' process Analyse and summarise their client's ethical concerns and priorities and how these translate to investment considerations Select ethical and socially responsible funds whose profiles best match their clients' concerns and priorities

Dieses neue Nachschlagewerk präsentiert mehr als 500 Informationsquellen zum Thema ethisch und sozial verantwortliche Investitionen. Es wendet sich an Informationsspezialisten, die im Bereich Wirtschaftsinformationen für den privaten wie öffentlichen Sektor tätig sind. Der Titel ist für alle, die mit Investitionsmanagement betraut sind oder relevante Informationen zu diesem Gebiet benötigen, eine unschätzbare Quelle aktueller Daten, handelt es sich doch um das umfangreichste Nachschlagewerk, das bislang zu diesem Thema veröffentlicht wurde. Das Buch deckt alle zentralen Bereiche innerhalb der sozial verantwortlichen Investitionen (SRI) ab: Umwelt, Menschenrechte, Arbeitsbedingungen, Tierschutz, Rüstungsfragen, Lebensmittelsicherheit, sexuelle Ausbeutung, Gesundheit, Sicherheit und Tabak. Die Informationsquellen zu jedem dieser Aspekte wurden einzeln ausgesucht, gründlich hinsichtlich der behandelten Themen analysiert und bewertet sowie mit vollständigen Kontaktangaben versehen. Das Spektrum der Quellen reicht von Büchern und Zeitschriften zu Websites und professionellen Einrichtungen. Der konkurrenzlose und benutzerfreundlich gestaltete Titel bietet allen, die im Bereich ethisch und sozial verantwortlicher Investitionen tätig sind, eine Auswahl der besten einschlägigen Informationsquellen.

Environmental harm is commonly associated with companies that extract, consume, and pollute our shared natural resources. Rarely are the 'unseen polluters,' the financiers that sponsor and profit from eco-damaging corporations, placed at the forefront of the environmental debate. By focusing on these unseen polluters, Benjamin Richardson provides a comprehensive examination of socially responsible investment (SRI), and offers a guide to possible reform. Richardson proposes that greater regulatory supervision of SRI will help ensure that the financial sector prioritizes ethically-based investments. In Socially Responsible Investment Law, he suggests that new governmental reforms should encourage companies to participate in socially responsible investments by providing a better mix of standards and incentives for SRI through measures that include redefining the fiduciary responsibilities of institutional investors to incorporate environmental concerns. By doing so, Richardson posits that corporate financiers, including banks, hedge funds, and pension plans, will become more accountable to the goals of ensuring sustainable development.

Over recent years there has been rapid consumer-led growth in investing in socially responsible companies to the extent that it has had an influence on corporate policies. New regulations recognise the public interest by requiring all pension funds to declare their ethical policy. Investors can no longer just consider the financial aspects of a company before investing but also have to consider the complex world of ethical investments. Should the ethical policy take precedence over the financial aspects? Should policies be inclusive or exclusive? What percentage of a company's income has to come from unacceptable sources before the source is excluded? Should any exclusion policy also extend to those involved in selling or transporting goods deemed unacceptable? This is the first book to look at socially responsible investment from the perspective of the institutional investor, who will be led through the complex dilemmas of socially responsible investment with practical examples and advice.

This book integrates socially responsible investment into modern portfolio theory from a multi-criteria perspective. Socially responsible investment is a “new deal” championed by the institutional investment and bank sectors, agents that influence mutual funds and other collective investment schemes and which fear that financial strategies without ethical constraints can harm sustainable growth and prosperity. The book shows how to combine financial criteria such as profitability and risk with non-financial criteria such as the protection of the ecosystem, responsible consumption of energy, and healthcare campaigns. The book’s first part presents critical issues in ethical investment, while the second explains in detail the application of goal programming techniques for SRI funds, illustrating their use in actual cases. Part three demonstrates how compromise programming can be applied in the contexts of portfolio selection and risk management. Finally, in its fourth part the book examines the application of other decision-making support methods like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework, the Reference Point Method, and soft computing techniques for portfolio selection.

Does Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) affect society in the 21st century? This book explores various facets of SRI to address its potential and limits to create societal change. Little research has been undertaken on the societal impacts of SRI. With this book we contribute to this debate, pushing the boundaries of SRI even further.

One of the most important activities of enterprises today is responsible entrepreneurship. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities can help to forge a stronger bond between employees and corporations, can boost morale, and can help both employees and employers feel more connected with the world around them. Moreover, the growing importance of this concept results from the fact that it is perceived as an effective tool for increasing competitiveness, improving the image of the company, or contributing to the generation of higher profits. In today’s world, an active commitment to social responsibility is becoming more common for a company. CSR and Socially Responsible Investing Strategies in Transitioning and Emerging Economies is an essential reference source that identifies the scale and scope of implementation of CSR and socially responsible investing strategies and standards in companies operating in different transitioning and emerging economies as well as assessing the global effects of these activities. Featuring research on topics such as economic growth, responsible investing, and business ethics, this book is ideally designed for managers, executives, directors, corporate professionals, government officials, industry leaders, academicians, students, and researchers in the fields of international economics, international business, marketing, finance management, and public relations.

The authors have done an excellent job explaining the development and practice of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Under the recent recognition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Asia and its strong emphasis by US and European corporations, this book provides important guidance to students and professionals who are interested in the effects and implications of SRI. This book is truly informative and should be on the reading list of all fund managers and CFOs of international corporations which are serious about CSR. Louis T.W. Cheng, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Individual investors and corporate heads have the responsibility to keep abreast of major changes in the marketplace. Socially responsible investment is one of those changes. Fung, Law and Yau provide, in a single source, a great opportunity to get up to date on an area that will be a force for years to come. I encourage any thoughtful investor or manager to read this book. Thomas Schneeweis, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US Socially responsible investment (SRI) is becoming increasingly popular and can be potentially rewarding to all parties concerned. This book discusses the opportunities, challenges, and practices of SRI in a global financial environment in a consistent and integrated framework of risk management. It also covers a wide variety of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues related to various participants, such as values-based retail, institutional investors, corporations, banks, supranational agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Readers are provided with the perspectives of SRI from various players in the financial community from values-based investors to fiduciaries to supranational agencies. The authors analyse the incorporation of ESG issues into investment practices within a regulatory, legal, reputational, and operational risk management framework. Academics, corporate executives, government regulators and policymakers, bankers, and non-governmental organizations involved with sustainable development will find much of interest in this book.

The UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment initiative has led to around a third of the world’s financial assets being managed with a commitment to invest in a way that considers environmental, social or governance (ESG) criteria. The responsible investment trend has increased dramatically since the global financial crisis, yet understanding of this field remains at an early stage. This handbook provides an atlas of current practice in the field of responsible investment. With a large global team of expert contributors, the book explores the impact of responsible investment on key financial actors ranging from mainstream asset managers to religious organizations. Offering students and researchers a comprehensive introduction to current scholarship and international structures in the expanding discipline of responsible investment, this handbook is vital reading across the fields of finance, economics and accounting.