However, most investment consultants will still advise charities to have a "balanced" portfolio. This, as well as good returns, can be achieved by employing a dual investing mandate whereby investments are first checked to see they aid, or at least do not hinder, the charity's mission, and then they should pass a general ethical or ESG screen. (Ethical and ESG screened portfolios can provide as good-and sometimes even better-returns than conventional portfolios.)
Charity workers themselves see the importance of investing ethically, too. From the UK's FT.Advisor in May 2010, "research from... The Pensions Trust [and] Queen Mary, University of London, [found] 72% of charity workers think investing ethically is critically important ... On average, younger members and women reported more interest in ethical investment, with 83% of those under 35 showing a moderate to high interest, compared with 61% of those over 65. Similarly, 76% of women believe ethical investment is important in comparison to 66% of men."
Also, donors are unlikely to want their charitable donations going to investments that may harm the charity's mission. Again, from the UK, the charitysri.org Web site divulges that, "according to a 2008 GFK/NOP poll of 2,000 adults commissioned by the EIRIS Foundation, 52% of the general public would be unwilling to give to a charity that is investing in a way that is against its mission, and a further 31% would be less likely to give." I suspect that were such surveys conducted in other countries, the results would be similar.
Whether or not involved in charities, most people believe charities must invest ethically and in ways that further the charities' goals. By holding and making investments that negate their goals, charities alienate donors and decrease donations. Becoming ever more conscious of such dilemmas, most charities will find their best choice is to institute strong ethical investment policies.
Copyright http://english.alrroya.com. Ron Robins is founder and analyst for Investing for the Soul, a firm based in Niagara Falls, Canada, that helps financial advisors create portfolios based on the personal value preferences of their clients.