More and more people opt for ethical savings, says study |
|
|
Published
:
Thu, 04 Aug 2005 11:55
|
LONDON: Britons have invested as much as 10.6 billion pounds in ethical savings in 2004, according to a study by Cooperative Financial Services. This represents an increase of 18 per cent compared with the previous year.
The study revealed that some 5.5 billion pounds had been invested in "socially responsible" funds, while 5.1 billion has been deposited in ethical banks and credit unions.
Cooperative Financial Services chief executive David Anderson said this marks a major milestone in the country's responsible investments sector and is an indication that the consumers are "increasingly thinking about how they can influence as ethical investor".
Ethical funds have been found to be putting their money into companies such as BT, for its efforts to reduce climate change in the U.K., and drugs firms who make efforts to ensure equal access to their products.
The study said that the overall ethical consumer market in the U.K., including banking and fair trade products, was worth 25 billion pounds in 2003.
Insurance company Friends Provident says its studies revealed that three in four Britons under-45 would prefer their savings and pension money to be invested ethically. Similarly, F&C Asset Management has collected data to indicate that ethical investments can produce returns at least equal to less scrupulous investments. points to data showing money invested ethically can produce returns at least equal to less scrupulous investments.
A F&C spokesperson said there is widespread perception that if investments are made in an ethical fund, which avoids certain types of companies, then it is bound to cost something in terms of performance. But in actuality this is not the case, he said, "as ethical funds are not governed by the same constraints on investments that many funds are. The message is simple: ethical investors can have their cake and eat it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print this Story
