Reports are a mainstay of the industry. There are those types
that are generated to provide funders with a description of the
work performed on various projects, and there are those that are
fully research oriented. It is the latter that constitutes the
majority of truly significant reports produced in the field. These
major research reports are usually produced by lead SRI agencies,
notably the national trade associations, who also see to it that
publicity accompanies their publication.
Three good examples include two by the SIF in the US: '1997 Report
on Responsible Investing Trends in the United States', and 'Tobacco's
Changing Context: A Challenge and Opportunity for Institutional
Investors', and one by the SIO in Canada: 'Canadian Industry Report
Series'.
"Social investing in the United States surged impressively
from 1995 to 1997, both in terms of screened portfolios under
professional management and shareholder advocacy efforts. In examining
the health of socially and environmentally responsible investing
in the two years since its last study in 1995, the Social Investment
Forum found:
Responsible investing tops the $1 trillion mark. For the first
time ever, more than $1 trillion in assets are under management
in the U.S. in socially and environmentally responsible portfolios,
which have grown from $639 billion in 1995 to $1.185 trillion
in 1997.
Growth of socially screened portfolios significantly outpaced
the broad market. Between January 1, 1995 and January 1, 1997,
total assets under management in screened portfolios for socially
aware investors rose 227 percent from $162 billion to $529 billion.
Over the same period, institutional tax-exempt assets under management
in the U.S. grew by 84 percent (including both market appreciation
and cash inflows), according to Pensions & Investments.
The number of responsibly invested mutual funds has nearly tripled
in the past two years. In 1995, the Social Investment Forum identified
55 mutual funds as employing social and/or environmental criteria
as a part of their formal, publicly stated investment policy.
Today, that number has risen to 144, a gain of 162 percent. The
surge in responsibly invested mutual funds is attributed, in large
part, to the move against investments profiting from the sale
of tobacco products led by such groups as the American Medical
Association (AMA) and the Coalition for Tobacco-Free Kids. Other
factors include: growing demand from socially concerned investors
and improved data collection for purposes of the 1997 study.
Tobacco is now the common denominator for virtually all socially
aware investors. Over 97 percent of managers running screened
portfolios and 84 percent of all socially screened assets avoid
investing in tobacco companies. Other screens include: gambling,
72 percent; weapons, 69 percent; alcohol, 68 percent; birth control/abortion,
50 percent; environment, 37 percent; labor 25 percent; human rights,
23 percent; and animal welfare, 7 percent.
Nearly 90 percent of responsibly invested funds are managed with
three or more screens. In numbers almost identical to those contained
in the 1995 study, the Social Investment Forum found that about
a third of the managers listed in the 1997 Nelson's Directory
of Investment Managers identify themselves as running portfolios
with social screens. Similarly, 88 percent of these managers employ
three or more screens, about the same as the 90 percent found
to be using multiple screens in the 1995 study.
Three quarter of a trillion dollars is controlled by investors
who play an active role in shareholder advocacy. Institutional
investors leveraged assets valued at $736 billion in the form
of shareholder resolutions, voted their proxies on the basis of
formal policies embodying socially responsible goals, and/or actively
worked with publicly traded companies to encourage more responsible
behavior.
Community investing holds its own. Community-based investments
totaling $4 billion are focused on local development initiatives,
affordable housing and small business lending in many of the neediest
urban and rural areas of the country.
Nearly one out of every 10 dollars under management in the U.S.
today is part of a responsibly invested portfolio. A total of
710 major investing institutions (including pension funds, mutual
fund families, community development funds, and foundations) were
found to be involved in socially responsible investing in one
way or another with assets totaling $1.185 trillion. This broad
figure accounts for roughly 9 percent of the $13.7 trillion in
investment assets under professional management in the U.S., according
to the 1997 Nelson's Directory of Investment Managers."
"Today, more and more institutional investors find themselves
wondering if it may finally be time for them to "kick"
the tobacco habit. Faced with a deluge of ethical, legal and economic
warning signs, prudent institutional investors are under increasing
pressure to make decisions about the appropriateness of tobacco
in an investment portfolio. This report offers a detailed look
at the challenges and opportunities facing institutional investors
as they grapple with investment policy questions about tobacco.
The authors of this report are the Social Investment Forum, the
national non-profit membership organization representing the social
investment industry, and Co-op America, a national non-profit
consumer and business education organization helping Americans
create a better future through their purchasing and investing
choices. The Social Investment Forum and Co-op America were also
in partnership with the sponsors of this report, Calvert Group,
First Affirmative Financial Network, Franklin Research & Development
Co., and The National Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids have prepared
Tobacco's Changing Context to assist institutional investors and
fiduciaries with the facts in the controversy surrounding the
tobacco industry. The authors and sponsors believe there is no
neutral ground in this issue.
The conclusions from this report are clear: With the increasing
financial, legal and ethical problems facing the tobacco industry,
it is imperative that all institutional investors review their
tobacco investment policies and formulate a response. Most importantly,
all investors can formulate a response to tobacco. This report
will show them how."
"A series of Reports reviewing the social and environmental factors shaping the future of the Forestry, Electric Power, and Mining Industries in Canada.
The SIO Report Series analyses the social and environmental impacts
on three key Canadian industries: Mining (1997), Electric Power
(1996), and Forest Products (1995).
SIO research provides a fair and balanced perspective on the social and environmental challenges faced by each industry today and in the future. Each Report Series is comprised of three separate reports.
