Growth in ethical investment, research shows, as more investors go green

Written by Ray Clancy

Tuesday, 16 March 2010 09:20

Growth in sustainable and ethical investment is set to accelerate this year with 13% of investors saying they are likely to go green with their ISA allowance, according to new research.

Ethical investments have grown almost two and half times in the last decade and are no longer seen as an area of investment just for the principled, The Co-operative Investments points out.

In a research report is points out that since 1999 money held in ethical investments has increased from £2.8 billion to £6.8 billion. While overall ethical finance, which includes banking, credit unions as well as investments, has almost tripled from £5.1 billion to £14.4 billion.

Further evidence that mainstream investors are switching on to the opportunities is evidenced by the success of a new sustainable fund launched by The Co-operative Investments last year. Since its launch in July the fund quickly reached the top half of the IMA Cautious Managed Sector by size, overtaking many of the more established funds in what was one of last year’s most popular sectors to invest.

‘These findings confirm that sustainable investment in particular is increasingly being seen as an attractive place to invest for a broader number of people. Sustainable investment is not a niche for ethically minded consumers. It offers a fantastic chance to grow investors’ money over the long-term by exploiting the exciting investment opportunities from major changes occurring throughout the world,’ said Rod Bulmer, Managing Director, Retail, at The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS).

‘The need to tackle issues such as ageing populations, climate change and global power shortage are fundamental in global society, and will create investment opportunities for some time to come,’ he added.

The Co-operative Investments offers three actively managed sustainable funds, all of which benefit from a sustainable approach to investing and are designed to meet the varying attitudes to risk of investors. The funds focus on eight key themes; healthcare, climate change, global power shortage, technology, global infrastructure, urban regeneration, sustainability and emerging markets.

It is also offering a 2% discount on the usual initial charge of 5% for anyone investing more than £10,000 before the 6 April 2010 into any of the Sustainable fund range. While those investing more than £15,000 will receive a discount of 3%.

For those wanting to invest responsibly but who are unable to invest for the medium long term, parent company CFS offers a range of Cash ISAs paying up to 3.4% through The Co-operative Bank and Britannia. The Co-operative Bank is the only high street bank to provide an ethical policy that gives it customers a say in how their money is used.